For Her
by Cpt.Fox
Summary: For her he'd do anything. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: My second story. Hopefully it's written a little better than the previous one, but we'll see. I'm not that great of a writer but I'll give it my best shot.

...action

000

"Here is your beverage."

"Its about damn time Rob, I asked you to get this for me like 20 minutes ago."

"Lay off Falco. Rob has been acting weird lately. I think somethings wrong with him. Besides," he added, looking over at his wing man, "He's a service bot not a butler."

"Tell me something I don't know."

The vulpine rolled his eyes and turned his attention back towards the television. He didn't want to argue with Falco, especially over something as stupid as a soda. Besides, this week the whole crew had been told to relax and take it easy, and that was exactly what he intended to do. That's what they _all _intended to do. For the first time in what seemed like forever Team StarFox wasn't needed anywhere. No planets were under attack or in need of being liberated from some evil force, no evil empire was building up, other than the one they had been fighting for the last few years, and even Andross had been quiet as of late, as if he knew the team was given a break and had decided to take one himself.

Whatever the reason Fox enjoyed the vacation from all the fighting. He wouldn't have to worry about getting up early and making patrols or fighting off enemies. Instead he could spend time with his crew and hopefully, if he could find the courage, with Krystal.

He couldn't help but let a smile cross his face as he pictured the beautiful fox. Ever since she had joined the team he had found a whole new book of reasons to get up in the morning. Her voice, her hair, her smile, her eyes, her scent...just her! But even with all her amazing qualities the vulpine still found it incredibly hard to be around her, knowing she could read his thoughts and not wanting her to figure out how he felt about her. He had imagined them together countless times. He pictured her laying against him on the couch as they watched tv, but instead he was stuck with Falco who was slurping the soda and flicking through channels.

He was just too afraid of her not loving him back.

_I probably don't have a chance with someone like her anyway._

The vulpine knew not to get his hopes up. He figured that she saw him as everyone else did; a teammate. Nothing more, nothing less. But in his heart he knew they were meant to be so much more. Letting out a sigh he stood up from the coach, stretching his arms in the air and feeling his muscles loosen. He looked up at the clock; 2pm. She would be in the hanger. She always spent her afternoons there for some reason. He longed just to be around her, to smell her scent and listen to her sweet voice.

"Where you heading?" Falco asked, not looking away from the screen.

"I'm just gonna take a walk, I need to stretch my legs." he replied, throwing a hand over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. "You should do the same. Before too long you'll become part of that couch!"

The only response was a loud belch from the bird, causing him to grin and shake his head before leaving the room.

_I wonder what she's thinking right now? Does she ever think about me?_

"Of course she doesn't." he whispered out loud. "She wouldn't want anything to do with a guy like me."

He knew he let his pessimism run his thoughts most of the time, always picking out the bad things and putting them before everything else. It was one of the main reasons why he hardly ever tried to make any moves on the sapphire vixen, as he was too afraid of being turned down. The way he saw it, as long as he wasn't rejected he still had a chance.

Letting out another sigh he made his way down the hall and into the command post. He looked around, surprised that Peppy or Slippy wasn't in here messing around with something. Shrugging he made his way to the window that looked down over the hanger. Searching the floor he finally spotted her, standing beside her Arwing with her iPod in as she ran a towel over her ship. He thought about making his way down to her, maybe getting to talk with her alone for a while, but the nervousness in his stomach was far stronger than any confidence he could muster.

_How can you ever expect her to love you if you don't make a move?_

Shaking his head he decided to just mind his own business, honestly convinced that he didn't have a chance in the world with her. Instead he decided to take a walk on the upper deck area of the hanger, knowing she wouldn't hear him from above with her music in. The vulpine walked up to the door, instantly jumping to the side as it slid open and Rob came rolling in.

"Rob what the hell! Wheres the fire?"

The robot stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the fox. At first the vulpine thought that Rob had been alerted of some danger or warning from outside the ship but no sooner had the thought left his mind did Rob stick his mechanical arm out, presenting Fox with a can of soda.

"I brought you a beverage Mr. McCloud. Here you go."

Timidly he reached out and took the soda from the robot's grasp, knowing that Rob had never acted like this before and trying to find another motive for his actions.

_What is up with him? For the last week Rob has been on the fritz, almost doing everything on impulse with no order from anyone. Maybe he has a virus or something._

"Err...thanks Rob. But I didn't ask for a, er, beverage."

For a moment there was nothing but silence, the glowing white orbs that represented Rob's eyes locking onto the vulpine's. At that moment he was definitely freaked out. Rob was acting _way _too weird lately, almost as if someone else was controlling him.

Being way too creeped out by Rob and his strange behavior Fox slowly turned back towards the door, casting one last glance over his shoulder at the service bot who was still staring at him.

"I'll get Peppy or Slippy to check you out later Rob. You're acting way too weird."

Rob narrowed his gaze at the fox as he exited the room but the vulpine didn't notice, trying not to worry about someone as insignificant as Rob when Krystal was right below him. He walked along the balcony, casually looking down every now and then at the Cerenian as she continued to hum to herself and wipe down her Arwing.

_Man she is so beautiful. What I'd give if I could just hold her in my arms._

He stopped walking and leaned against the railing, opening the soda that Rob had so unexpectedly brought him. He took a sip and continued to look down across the hanger at the vixen, knowing that this was easily the best part of his day so far. For the next few minutes that was all he did, sipping the drink and watching her down below. In his mind he tried to figure out some way he could ask her out but he always shot his ideas down as soon as they popped into his mind.

"What will I have to do to get her?" he mumble to himself.

No sooner had the words left his mouth did he hear the vixen below him let out a sigh of frustration. Looking down at her once more he saw that she had knocked over the bottle of sprite that she had set on the edge of her Arwing, causing it to run across the hanger and pool up in the middle of the runway. His first instinct was to run down there and help her clean it up, knowing that it would be an excuse to talk to her, something he hadn't done since yesterday morning. But then his doubt took over like usual, his mind telling him that if he went down there she would know he had been watching her this entire time, which could freak her out.

The vulpine squeezed the aluminum can in his paw, crushing it into a crumpled shape. He wanted to be with her more than anything else but he couldn't find the right reasons to get close to her.

Letting out yet another frustrated sigh he turned and began to walk back towards the command post, hoping that he would get another opportunity soon. But he had only managed to take a few steps back in that direction before he heard an all too familiar sound which stopped him in his tracks. Looking over the rail he watched as Slippy's Arwing slowly made its way over to the runway, positioning itself on the launch pad as if it were preparing to take off.

"What the hell? No one is scheduled to go out today, hell no one is scheduled to go out this week!" the vulpine narrowed his gaze down to the Arwing, shock instantly flooding his face as he realized the cockpit was empty.

_There's no one in there? But that's impossible, you cant pilot an Arwing from anywhere other than the command post, and even then you can only launch it!_

Turning his gaze towards the control room he looked through the window, knowing that no one would be in there. He was right. The room was empty, no one to his knowledge, was controlling this Arwing. From there anyways.

"What the hell...how...

He heard the Arwing's engine slowly power up, causing him to look back down into the hanger. Instantly his heart froze as he could see the scene playing out before him. Somehow an unmanned Arwing was fixing to take off from the hanger, the doors of which weren't even open and _couldn't_ be opened unless someone was in the command post to do so, which there wasn't. But even that wasn't the worst part he realized as he watched the Arwing slowly turn and position itself over the launch pad.

The worst part was that Krystal was right in the path of the Arwing, on her knees in the floor cleaning up her soda, her headphones keeping her unaware of the freak accident that was soon to occur.

_What are the chances of this all happening? No..._HOW _is this happening?_

He knew he had no time to question what was causing all of this. All he knew was that it was happening right before him and that the vixen he cared for more than life itself was seconds away from death.

The fox yelled her name across the hanger, fear gripping his heart as he realized she still couldn't hear him because of her headphones. It was then he knew he had to make a move, and fast. His first thought was to run to the control room and try to shut down the launch, but he knew that was pointless as he didn't even know how the launch itself had started since no one was even _in _the command post. And even if he could get to the controls in time he wouldn't know what buttons to push to stop the ship.

His second thought was to take off across the hanger and try to reach the vixen in time to pull her out of the way, but he knew that he would never make it in time. The Arwing was only seconds away from launching and he was much closer to it than he was to her.

Knowing that he was left with only one option the vulpine threw himself over the rail of the balcony, falling the 15 feet to the ground and landing only yards from the plane. He felt the heat from the engines as they neared their required power to launch and he cast one last glance at Krystal, praying that the vixen had somehow noticed what was going on. But his prayers weren't answered as she was still wiping up the mess on the floor, silently cursing under her breath, unaware of the commotion almost 30 yards behind her.

A burst from the engine brought the vulpine's gaze back to Slippy's ship and he instantly threw himself up on the wing. He could feel the massive heat coming from the powerful engine only feet away, well aware that no one was supposed to be this near an Arwing at takeoff yet having to ignore the pain as it burned into the left side of his body. He pulled at the canopy, knowing that if he could get inside he could stop the launch manually simply by flipping the kill switch, which was designed exactly for this purpose. But no matter how hard he strained at the canopy it wouldn't open, and he had known it wouldn't. Once the Arwing was started, the canopy could only be opened from the inside.

He let out a groan of desperation, knowing that it would only be seconds before the Arwing would slingshot forward at an incredible speed, slamming into the hanger doors, and Krystal.

_No. I'm not going to let this happen. Not to her!_

Taking a deep breath the vulpine brought his hand back, knowing this was his only chance. He knew what would happen to her if he couldn't stop this ship from launching, and with that thought on his mind the vulpine felt a strength he had never felt before as he thrust his fist down on the side of the canopy, letting out a yelp of pain as he felt his knuckles make contact with the reinforced glass. He knew if he stopped he wouldn't be able to deliver another one so the vulpine reached back and came down on the canopy again and again, feeling his fingers break but ignoring the pain, his only thought telling him to save her. He looked down and finally saw the glass slowly crack in every direction. Not waiting see if it would eventually shatter on its own he brought his elbow up and began smashing at it, gritting his teeth and fighting through the pain as he continued to batter his right arm against the glass.

_Don't stop...you can't stop..._

Finally the entire pane busted in, shattering crystals all over him. The vulpine felt unbelievable pain in his right arm but ignored it, knowing he had absolutely no time to spare. Thrusting his left arm through the opening, ignoring the large slither of glass that cut open his forearm while doing so, he reached down below the throttle and flipped the manual kill switch, closing his eyes and waiting, knowing that he had been just as late as he possibly could have been.

_Please..._

He let out a deep sigh of relief as he heard the engine instantly die, the massive heat that had been scorching the side of his body finally fading away into silence. He slowly pulled his arm out of the Arwing, hearing endless shards of glass fall off on him and the ship onto the ground below. The pain in his right arm was unbelievable and he knew that trying to move it, or any of his fingers, would be pointless. But at least the blistering pain his right arm distracted him from the large piece of glass that was driven into his left.

He managed to look up to where Krystal was, a brief sense of satisfaction in his mind as he realized she was safe. He watched as the vixen finally stood up, her mess no longer noticeable anymore on the floor as she turned around to face him, instantly realizing something was wrong. The scent of blood was already all around her and she only had to allow her mind a brief second to wander before she felt his pain.

_She's okay...I don't know what caused this to happen but nothing matters now, as long as she is okay._

As the thought left him the vulpine felt his mind go black, the pain in his arm along with the burning heat he still felt on half of his body becoming too much for his conscious mind to bear. Looking down at his arm he noticed glass and blood basically everywhere, his fur hardly visible. He took one last glance up in her direction before falling off the Arwing and landing on the floor with a painful thud, the image of the sapphire vixen running towards him, tears in her eyes as she screamed for help being the last thing he saw before everything went black.

End...of chapter 1 :P

Author's Note: It was probably a little rushed and needed a lot more work but I'm not a great writer so just try to forgive me if it was awful. I really hope to get some good scenes out of this story though, and there will definitely be some mature moments so...yeah.. lol. Please read and review people! I'll try to update midweek and stop this every Friday stuff.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: This is a helluva long chapter. Compared to my last (and first) story its written somewhat differently, the characters don't have the same attitudes (Falco easily) and they feel different about each other. But we are all different right? So I hope a few people bother to read this. PLEASE let me know how I can improve my grammar. Misspelled words are sometimes ignored or replaced by Word and you will easily notice them so don't think I'm completely stupid, just mostly. :P

Chapter 2...Roll film!

"So what the hell happened?"

"I have no idea," the vixen replied, still trying to find out the answer herself. "All I know is I was cleaning up a mess on the hanger floor and then I turned around and saw Fox up on Slippy's Arwing...and there was blood everywhere. I could instantly feel the pain he was in," she added as she remembered searching his thoughts for that brief second. "It was horrible."

Falco narrowed his gaze as he tried to picture the scene for himself, wanting to find out who or what had been responsible for this as much as the rest of them. He had already been out to the hanger and seen the shattered canopy, but neither him nor Slippy could figure out how the Arwing had gotten where it was without anyone inside of it, which raised everyone's suspicions. So much so that the ship had been searched...twice.

"Well, he banged himself up pretty good...whatever he was trying to do."

Krystal grimaced as she remembered what he had looked like when she had reached him. His knuckles were bloody and full of glass shards and his elbow was ripped open a good 3 inches in both directions, basically pouring blood out on the floor. His left forearm had a long slither of glass running up it, along with his singed fur from the heat of the engine, and it was all topped off with a concussion that he had received after falling off the Arwing.

_What made you do this Fox? What was happening?_

She looked up at the vulpine, still out cold from both the concussion and the morphine that the doctor had given him. He had been out of it for almost 4 hours now. After her and Falco had managed to get Fox off the hanger floor and into his room the bird took off in his own Arwing, returning a half hour later with a doctor who cleaned the vulpine's wounds, sewn his gashes shut, and put his entire right arm in a cast.

"He should be okay. He lost a good amount of blood but nothing to be too worried over." the duck had said after he finished. "He broke four fingers in his right hand and basically every bone in his forearm and elbow. He'll be in that cast for 2 or 3 months, lucky for him foxes heal themselves a lot faster than most animals."

"What about his left arm?" Falco asked, looking at the bandage the duck had put on it. "Anything broken in it?"

"No," he replied, narrowing his gaze as he guessed what the bird was asking. "Just a deep cut. But I don't care how good a pilot your friend is I don't want him trying to do anything like that until that cast is off. Maybe even a few weeks after."

Falco snorted but didn't argue. The bird knew that nothing would stop Fox from flying his Arwing, not as long as he had one good arm. So the doctor ran a few more checkups, setting up the morphine drip to ease the vulpine's pain, before allowing Falco to fly him back to Corneria. Now the vixen was left alone in the room, sitting on the side of his bed and trying her hardest to search his mind for an answer to all of her questions. But no matter how hard she concentrated she couldn't get past the mist that clouded his thoughts, something she had never been able to do to someone while they were asleep.

Letting out a sigh she leaned forward, not knowing what else to do other than stay by his side until he woke up and told them all what happened.

_I cant help but feel like he did this because of me. But I just don't know!_

The door to the room slowly opened and Falco stepped inside, a knowing look in his eyes as he made his way over to the bed.

"Well, we know why he did this." he muttered, holding up a disc.

_Talk about perfect timing..._

"Whats that?" she asked, making her way around the bed.

"Peppy remembered that he had a surveillance camera set up in the hanger about a year ago. It records everything and stores it on the ship's computer, so it showed us everything that happened." he flipped the disc a few times in his hand, an unsure look on his face. "But I don't know if you should see it."

Krystal shook her head and took the disc from him, "I'm going to figure out what happened Falco. One way or the other."

The bird sighed and set down on the edge of the bed. He had already watched the video and he had gotten sick from seeing his friend tear up his body to save her. Even worse, still no one knew what had caused it to happen. Not even Peppy, as smart as he was, could tell them how Slippy's Arwing magically fired itself up and got into the launch position.

"Look Krystal, what if I just told you what happened. I really don't think you should..."

The vixen rolled her eyes and put the disc in the dvd player. She was going to find out what had caused Fox so much pain, and then she would do whatever she could to bring whatever it was to justice. He was her teammate and friend and she knew that he would do the same for her.

"Where is it?" she asked, fast forwarding through the film.

"Krystal you don't understand...

"Falco!"

"All right fine! Keep going until the time in the bottom reads 2:18pm. But don't say I didn't warn you! You don't have to see it," silently he added, "And you wont like it when you do."

She let out a sigh, tired of Falco thinking she was too sensitive to handle things like this. _She _had found him! _She _had seen his injuries! What was it about this video that he thought would upset her so much?

Finally the recording reached the right time, the camera showing everything in the hanger from the control center. She hit play, instantly seeing Fox walk out onto the balcony with a soda in his hand on the right side of the screen. Looking closer she could see herself in the distance cleaning her Arwing, her iPod in and keeping her unaware of the vulpine's entrance. The film continued to play, showing Fox walk halfway down the hanger before he stopped and leaned across the rail, looking down at her and sipping at the soda.

_What is he doing? Just watching me?_

"Now look at the bottom of the screen," Falco said, interrupting her thoughts. "Watch the controls in Slippy's Arwing come to life."

Doing as he said she looked closely at Slippy's Arwing, knowing it wouldn't be easy to see the controls light up through the tinted canopy. But sure enough, just as Falco had said, the Arwing started up before her very eyes, not a soul inside it.

"How did it do that? Arwing's cant just start themselves, that's impossible!" she said pausing the video.

The vixen turned towards Falco hoping for an answer, but the falcon merely shrugged. "The only way you can fire up an Arwing without being inside it is from the command room. But no one will admit to being in there and we don't have a camera to tell us otherwise."

"Watch what happens now." he added, pointing to the tv.

She turned back to the screen, doing her best to hold all of her questions inside for the moment. The video resumed and the two watched the Arwing slowly roll forward until it was in the middle of the hanger where it rotated 90 degrees and backed into the launch pad. (Ya know, the slingshot thing that shoots planes off of naval ships? That's how it works in my story :P)

"Is it going to launch? All on its own?" she asked, not stopping the film this time.

"No." Falco replied solemnly, "Not after Fox is done with it."

The vixen began to ask him what he meant but a movement in the background caught her attention as she recognized herself slowly making her way across the hanger on all fours.

"That was when I knocked over my drink while wiping off my Arwing," she explained as Falco stepped forward. "It ran across the entire floor, I was wiping it up."

"I wish you had just left it there." he replied.

"What? Why?"

Suddenly she heard Fox's voice, yelling out her name as the Arwing's engine began to glow bright orange as it prepared for takeoff. She watched Fox scream out her name once more before throwing himself over the edge, pausing only for a second as if he were considering his options before darting off towards the plane.

The vixen felt a sick feeling enter the pit of her stomach as she finally realized why this all had happened. She clenched her fists in dismay as Fox pulled himself onto the wing of the plane, putting an arm to the side of his face as the heat from the Arwing's engine burned at his fur. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched him pull on the canopy, desperation clearly visible in his eyes even through the camera. In the background she could still see herself, carelessly facing the other direction while listening to her music and wiping up the mess she had made.

Her attention shot back to Fox as he let go of the canopy, taking one last hopeful glance in her direction before looking back at the ship and placing his left hand on the canopy and bringing back his right, ready to do whatever it took to save her.

"Fox...

She watched in sorrow as he brought his fist down on the glass again and again, his screams of pain still audible over the roar of the Arwing's engine. She felt Falco's hand rest on her shoulder but she couldn't manage to turn away from the screen as she watched the vulpine's hand finally give out only to see him turn around and put his back to the canopy before thrusting his elbow back into the slowly cracking glass. She felt the tears run down her cheek as the scene continued to play out, his entire arm now completely covered in his own blood and glass as he finally busted open the canopy, turning around and instantly thrusting his left arm into the cockpit, letting out another yelp of pain as the shard of glass slid up his left arm.

Finally the Arwing's engine died down and he managed to roll over, taking a quick glance in her direction to make sure she was okay before the dizziness took over and he fell off the plane and onto the ground. Krystal watched herself slowly rise from the floor, not having the slightest idea about what had just happened behind her.

"It's all my fault." she whispered as the tears silently ran down her face. "I made him suffer like that."

She felt Falco squeeze her shoulder, "You didn't know Krystal. Something as crazy as that couldn't have been predicted."

"You don't understand...I made him go through all of that pain! Just because I was too stupid to get out of the way!" she turned and looked at the vulpine, knowing that the suffering he had put himself through to stop that Arwing was more like torture as he continued to bust his knuckles and break his own bones without a second thought just to save her.

_Its all my fault! Oh Fox I'm so sorry!_

"You didn't know what was happening Krystal." Falco repeated, "No one did. Something caused that Arwing to try and take off and it wasn't an accident that it happened right then and there, I know it."

She didn't look away from Fox as the falcon spoke. She knew he could be right, that someone had planned it to happen right at that precise moment, but even if that was the case it still wouldn't be enough to keep her mind from replaying that scene over and over again. She would never be able to forget the look of pain and sacrifice that was on his face as he did something that no one else would ever do.

"Its still my fault," was all she could mutter, wiping a tear from her cheek. "He went through that to save me."

"He...he cares about you...ya know? Of course he'd do something like that to save you. You mean a lot to him."

The bird wasn't great with these emotional moments but he knew that he had to say something to reassure the vixen, and the only thing he could think of was to tell her how much Fox cared about her. It wasn't like he was lying. When it was just the two of them he wouldn't ever shut up about her, frankly it put him to sleep, but he knew that deep down the vulpine would do anything for Krystal.

_To have been able to go through all of that pain..._

She couldn't keep her mind from flashing the image of him beating on the canopy over and over. The pain that he endured was causing a pit of grief and guilt in her stomach and the vixen felt as if she would be sick at any moment. She didn't know what to think or how to feel anymore. Part of her knew it was her fault that Fox had suffered like he did, but the other part of her tried to tell her that it was a freak accident that couldn't have been avoided, an idea that she knew she would never accept.

She looked down at his arm, completely covered in a cast, knowing it was like that because of her. Shaking her head she turned away, trying to forget the scene that Falco had warned her about. But even when she managed to get the images out of her mind she still couldn't forget the pain she had felt in his thoughts, if only for that brief moment. That small second that she used her power to search his mind she had felt the unbelievable pain that his body was in, a feeling that she knew she would never forget as long as she lived.

"Listen Krystal," Falco said, interrupting her thoughts, "I know that you feel bad about this, but whats happened has happened, there's nothing we can do about it now. But instead of grieving over it we should do what Fox would want us to do, and that's find out _why_ it happened."

Finally the vixen sighed and nodded, she knew that Falco was right, regardless of how she still felt on the inside. If Fox had went through all of this to save her then the least she could do was find out why it happened and make sure that it never happened again.

"I guess you're right," she murmured, gently placing her paw on Fox's arm. "We _will _figure out what caused this. I owe Fox at least that much."

The falcon returned her nod, glad to see a spark of the Krystal that he was used to. He hated to admit it but he had never been around Krystal when she was like this like this before, either because he had never spent much time with her or because he didn't pay attention. But whatever the reason he was glad to see the tears were no longer in her eyes, instead he now saw a look of determination and care as she looked down at his friend.

"He _really _does care about you," he added before turning around and heading for the door.

"I know," she whispered, quickly leaning forward and kissing him on the forehead. "Thank you Fox."

She gently squeezed his hand before rising up and following Falco to the door, taking one last look at her sleeping hero before pulling it shut behind her.

"So now what?" she asked, following Falco down the hallway and into the lounge.

"Now? Well...to be honest, I'm not sure. Peppy and Slippy are down in the hanger looking around the Arwing but I'm still not convinced that the plane should be getting all the attention. I just have a feeling that someone living and breathing was behind all this."

"Someone on the ship?"

"No," he replied, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a coke out of the fridge. "At least not anymore."

The vixen tipped her head to the side as she tried to imagine how someone could sneak onto the ship, hack into an Arwing remotely and attempt to launch it, and still manage to sneak off GreatFox without being seen by _anyone. _And the more she tried to picture it the more impossible it seemed.

"I don't know Falco," she said, putting a paw behind her neck. "I just cant see someone being able to sneak on board without anyone noticing. Not to mention taking off in another plane to get away."

"Okay well what about this; what if one of the crew who knew how to work the controls in the command room decided to switch sides in the middle of this war? Or what if one of them is a spy for Andross and this was just an attempt to take one of us out?" the falcon took a sip from the can and reached into the cabinet above him and grabbed a bag of chips. "You cant tell me that isn't possible."

The vixen still found the idea to be a bit hard to believe, but going on all the evidence they had at the moment it made the most sense.

_What if one of the crew really is a responsible for this? Someone _had _to be controlling that Arwing, so someone wants either myself, Fox, or the entire team dead._

"That actually seems possible," she replied, shaking her head as the bird gestured towards her with the bag. "But the crew isn't that large, and they all seem very friendly. I just cant see any of them doing something like this."

"If it were a spy then of course you wouldn't. I'm not saying this is what happened, I'm just saying its a possibility. We don't know what caused Slippy's plane to magically come to life and practically launch itself, but we _do _know that someone, either on the ship then or now, was behind it."

Falco took a final drink out of his can before tossing it in the garbage. "Because that Arwing doesn't have a mind of its own, and computers just don't have it out for us."

As the phrase left him Krystal saw Rob slowly roll past the doorway in the hall, his white orbs staring directly at her as he went on by. Falco turned to see what she was looking at but Rob had left the entrance already, still slowly making his way down the hall.

"What was it?" he asked, looking back at her.

"Oh nothing, just Rob." she replied, shaking away the creeped out feeling that had made itself known in her.

At the sound of the bot's name Falco walked over to the doorway and glanced to his left, looking for a few seconds before slowly turning back around, "Something is up with him." he finally said, walking back towards the lounge. "He was just sitting there in the hallway, staring at me. He's been acting so weird for the past few days."

"He was working fine on Corneria last Friday." she replied, following him down the stairway and into the hanger.

"Yeah it was after we got back on GreatFox that he started acting like this." The falcon shrugged and continued to lead her across the hanger to where Slippy and Peppy were inspecting the Arwing. "But its probably just some loose wire or something technical, I'll get Peppy to look at him later. We have a bigger problem right now."

The vixen nodded and stepped up beside him, listening to Peppy and Slippy talk now that they were close enough.

"Well if the Arwing's computer doesn't show a manual start up then we know no one was inside it you dummy! We knew that from watching the video."

"Oh yeah. Well, maybe the auto pilot took over or the computer thought it had a mission today?"

Peppy put a paw to his forehead (facepalm) and let out a sigh. "Slippy, you don't understand. This is a fighter plane, the computer in this Arwing is nothing like the one that pilots GreatFox. It can not, under any circumstances turn itself on or take off. A living breathing creature had to have fired up this Arwing from the control room. Understand?"

"So no auto pilot?"

Falco let out a chuckle, grabbing the attention of the two pilots, and perhaps saving Slippy from being strangled.

"I take it you two have solved the mystery?"

"There are two mysteries here," Peppy replied. "And one of them can never be solved," he added, jerking his thumb at Slippy.

"Hey I'm helping! It was my ship after all! I know more about it than anyone!" the frog retorted, patting his webbed hand against the side of the Arwing before crying out in pain as a shard of glass stuck him.

"They are all exactly the same." Peppy muttered, turning his gaze away from the frog. "So. How is he?"

"Everything is still okay," she replied solemnly, "His entire arm is in a cast and he's got bandages all over him, but he's fine now. No thanks to me."

The hare shook his head and patted her on the shoulder. "Now Krystal, you know as well as I do that it could have been anyone one of us out there." he said, pointing behind himself to where she had spilled her drink. "We're just lucky that Fox cared enough about you to...well...be able to stop it."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" he asked with a chuckle. "What I mean is I was there when they tested these Arwings. The glass on that canopy was designed to withstand everything from a 40mm blaster shot to the extreme heat of re-entry into _any _planet's atmosphere. Anyone without extraordinary strength would only hurt themselves and smudge the glass if they tried to break it, but Fox...I don't know how he did it, but somehow he found it within himself to take out that entire pane. Just so he could get in there and stop it from, well...

"Killing me." she murmured, knowing that it was the truth. In fact, knowing all of this just made her feel even worse. Now when she allowed the image of him beating on the canopy enter her mind it was with the knowledge that what he had done had taken strength that he had never had to use before.

_Does he really care for me that much?_

"Look," Falco said, interrupting the awkward moment, "There's no need to continue worrying about that. Its over with. Fox will be fine and better than ever in a few months. What we need to worry about is figuring out how the hell this happened, and how to make sure it never happens again."

This time Krystal found it harder to take her mind off of Fox. Suddenly the signs began to appear in front of her as she replayed the video in her mind over and over, still seeing the pain in his eyes but also the love and determination that was fueling him.

_Does he love me? Is that how he found all that strength? Love?_

She could hear Falco and Peppy discussing his idea of there being a spy in the midst of the crew in the background, but she ignored them, her mind on a completely different track now. The vixen began to think back to all the times he had been around her, nervous and tense, kind and caring, always doing whatever he could for her even if it was something as small as flying to Corneria to get her favorite cereal, which he had done numerous times.

_All this time has he been in love with me? I mean sure, I've thought about us being a couple before, but I never imagined that Fox would feel the same towards me._

"Don't you think so Krystal?"

She shook her head and looked back up at Falco. "Whats that?"

"I told Peppy that it would be a good idea for each of us to keep a closer eye on the crew."

"Yeah," She replied, doing her best to push Fox out of her thoughts, at least for the moment. "That would probably be the best plan. We don't know if whoever is behind this is even on the ship anymore."

Peppy and Falco nodded in agreement and for a moment no one said anything, the only sound in the hanger coming from Slippy who was putting a bandage on his cut.

"Well...I don't think there is much more we can do here tonight." Peppy finally said, "Its almost 9, maybe if we all get a good nights sleep we'll have a better idea on things tomorrow."

Falco nodded, "And Fox will probably be awake by then, he can help us. After all he was the one who saw all of this first hand."

"Okay," she replied, "You guys go ahead. I'm just going to check on Fox before I turn in."

"G'night Krystal."

"Good night Peppy...Slippy, Falco."

The other two pilots nodded and all four or them made their way up the stairs and back past the lounge towards their rooms, the weariness of the day's actions finally seeming to settle in on everyone.

"Oh Peppy," Falco said as he entered his room, "I meant to tell you that Rob has been acting weird the past few days. Maybe you can check him out?"

"Sure thing. I'll run a few checkups on him tomorrow morning. Its been a while since his hardware has been updated so that might have something to do with it."

Then she was alone, quietly making her way down to the end of the hallway and gently opening the door to the vulpine's room. She softly padded over to where he lay, sitting down on the side of the bed and looking down at him. Once more the thoughts began to enter her mind, making her wonder about how he felt towards her. She wanted so desperately to dive into his thoughts and find out what he was thinking but she knew it was impossible while he was asleep.

She noticed that there was a cut running down the side of his muzzle, blood still slowly making its way out.

_The doctor must have missed that one._

She rose up and made her way to the bathroom, finding a wash cloth and running it under some cold water before once again sitting down by his side. Tenderly she washed the wound, sighing as she once again told herself that it was her fault that he was like this. Once the cut looked clean enough she returned to the bathroom and found a bandage to cover it. She looked over his face and arms once more to make sure he wasn't still bleeding anywhere else before leaning against the headboard, letting out another sigh.

_I haven't felt this bad since my home planet was destroyed. But this time no one was killed and everyone says it wasn't my fault. Then why do I feel so...guilty? Or is it something else that I feel?_

She reached down and took his left hand in her own, running her paw over his bandage and looking at all the cuts that he had suffered.

"Peppy says that no ordinary animal would have been able to do it," she whispered, "He said that it would have taken extraordinary strength to do what you did."

Softly she put her paw to the side of his face and stroked his cheek.

"So how did you?"

She asked the question out loud but on the inside she _knew _the answer. He loved her and found the strength from it. He would do whatever it took to protect her.

_When all of this is over I want us to be together Fox. It just feels right when I'm with you._

Without thinking she leaned down and gently kissed him on the lips, knowing it was the least she could offer him for what he had done.

"Thank you Fox. For everything."

000

Author's Note: There's another one. Hope it wasn't too awful. I'm still trying to get better at writing so please forgive my sloppy mistakes. That being said, please R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

000

The clock read 4am but sleep would no longer come. The night had been restless at best as the memories of the previous day continued to play in her head like a highlight reel, keeping her tossing and turning as her mind was stuck on the vulpine and all he'd done. She had known before she went to bed that it would be pointless to try and sleep.

Sighing, she threw the covers off her and eased out of bed, making her way across the bedroom floor and into her bathroom. She reached into the shower and turned on the hot water before sliding out of her jogging pants and pulling the t-shirt over her head, both of which Fox had given her the first night she was on the ship. It was all he could find for her at the moment yet she wore them more than most of the clothes she had went out and bought for herself.

She brought the white shirt to her muzzle, breathing in the scent of the vulpine that still lingered on it even after these many months.

_I have never felt this way towards him before. After everything that's happened this past day I cant help but believe we are so much closer. I cant stop thinking about...Fox._

Shaking the thoughts from her head she drew back the curtain and stepped into the warm water, grateful for its soothing touch as it helped wake her up. But still the entire time in the shower she could only think about him. It had been like that all night and countless times she wished that he had been awake when she had kissed him, just so he would know. After a few minutes of simply standing under the water the vixen shut it off and grabbed a towel from the closet to dry off. She looked into her dresser, not wanting to get into uniform just yet. Turning back towards the bathroom she picked up the jogging pants and t-shirt and put them back on before padding across the room and to her door.

_I'll check on him just to make sure he's okay._

The vixen pulled her door shut behind her and walked the few feet down the hall to Fox's room. She rested her paw on the handle and turned it gently before sliding into his room. He had rolled over on his side during the night but other than that hadn't moved at all. She made her way over to the bed and once again sat on the edge, checking his cast and bandages for blood before finally resting her hand on his own and running her fingers through his.

_Don't wake him up! What will he think?_

She gently squeezed his paw and pulled away, breathing in his scent before letting her impulses get the best of her as she leaned forward and kissed him on the side of the muzzle.

"I wish you were awake," she whispered.

_It feels so right being with you. The more I think about what you did for me the more I wish you knew how I felt._

The vixen allowed herself to lean down beside him, resting her head on his pillow and her muzzle in his chest. Earlier she hadn't been able to get any sleep at all but now, just being with him, she felt like she could sleep forever. Within seconds she drifted off, the rest of her body pulling itself into the bed beside him as she finally got the much needed sleep she had failed to achieve earlier. The clock on the wall showed 4:30 am but she didn't care, she was where she wanted to be now and that was all her mind needed to know before drifting off to sleep with the rise and fall of the vulpine's chest beside her.

(POV Switch) [Had writer's block this entire chapter, very hard piece to write so forgive me.]

He didn't know what woke him, it could have been the pain throbbing all over his body or it could have been the fact that he had been sleeping for 14 hours straight and his body couldn't take it anymore. But whatever the reason was he was grateful for it because he couldn't have woken to a more beautiful sight, as unexpected as it was.

_What is she doing in bed with me? Surely she hasn't been with me this whole time?_

The extra weight on his arm was the first thing to catch his attention when he woke, instantly reminding the vulpine of everything that had happened and explaining why he felt like shit. But the feeling lasted only a second as he felt the rise and fall of another in front of him. At first he wasn't sure who it was, only seeing a white t-shirt and a gray pair of jogging pants, but then her blue fur, the white markings on her arms, her amazing scent flooded his nostrils and he realized who it was.

"Krystal..." he whispered, cringing as he tried to move his right arm off of her waist.

_I must be dreaming._

He brought his left hand into a ball, telling his mind where it had gotten off to. He felt fur in his fist and looked over her shoulder to see his fingers intertwined with her own as she held his hand while continuing to sleep. The vulpine couldn't help but smile as he pictured the scene from above, her body up against his, wearing the baggy shirt and jogging pants he had given her.

_Its almost like we're a couple._

Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to wake her, he simply leaned his muzzle against her neck and lay there, breathing in her beautiful scent and watching the red numbers on the clock change. It was going on 8am now, on what he could only hope was the day after he had saved her from the freak Arwing incident. Minutes passes all too quickly and eventually the vixen let out a deep breath and unconsciously rolled over onto her other side, her face only inches from his own.

_What do I do if she wakes up? What do I say? Did she end up falling asleep beside me because she wanted to or because she was just waiting by my side and couldn't stay up any longer? I know she feels guilty about all of this, but I don't want her to feel like she has to be closer to me because of it. That isn't how I want us to start._

Suddenly the vixen opened her mouth and let a yawn escape her, slowly opening her gaze and recognizing the vulpine.

"Fox, you're awake...

A blush crossed both their faces and he nodded, avoiding her gaze, "Yeah, I just woke a few minutes ago."

Shaking her head the vixen rolled over and stood up, her blue face almost completely covered in a blush as she looked back at him. "I-I'm sorry. I probably woke you, I shouldn't have fallen asleep in your bed. I was just checking on you and I must have gotten sleepy..."

The vulpine put his left hand behind his neck and rubbed it, trying to hide his nervousness, "No, its okay Krystal. If anything I should be grateful to you for staying by my side and watching over me."

A look of disbelief crossed her face as the words left his mouth and she had to turn away, "That's what I'm supposed to say to you Fox, for doing what you did. I should be thanking you."

The vulpine couldn't help but grin, realizing that he had just said exactly what she had planned on saying to him. He took a deep breath and pulled himself up into a sitting position, resting his back against the headboard as he tried to think of something to reply with.

"You don't have to thank me Krystal. Anyone would have done what I did."

The vixen knew that wasn't true. Even if someone else had been in Fox's spot at the time the Arwing had tried to take off she knew that no one other than the vulpine would have found the strength to save her. She _had _to find a way to show him how thankful she was that he was there for her, not just yesterday but the entire time she had been on the team.

"No one else could have done what you did Fox. Anyone else wouldn't have been able to save my life."

He looked down at his cast and knew she was right. He had only been able to break that panel of glass on the canopy because he knew if he didn't she would be dead. But that was all the motivation he needed to find the strength to save her.

"I wasn't going to let you die." he replied, adding with a smile, "I cant imagine this place without you."

"But its my fault that you're like this. Its my fault that you had to suffer like that just to save me." she cried, still facing the opposite direction as if she couldn't bare seeing his crippled state.

The vulpine put his left arm on the headboard and pulled himself forward, ignoring the pain that came from basically every part of his body as he did. Yet the instant his feet hit the floor he realized that his injuries were nowhere near as bad as he had feared, especially once he started moving. He stepped up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder, not bothering to think before he spoke and instead just blurting out what his heart wanted him to.

"I would have died to save you."

He felt his heart race as the words left his mouth. He had wanted to say that ever since he met her and now that he finally did he had no idea how she would respond. He felt her hand leave his and began cursing himself for saying it, fearing it had been too much. But then the sapphire vixen turned around and faced him, placing her arms around his neck and leaning into his chest.

"Why Fox? Why would you do that for me?" she asked, holding on to the vulpine.

_Just tell her the truth. Tell her you love her._

He would never get the opportunity as the door to his room opened and Falco stepped inside, not seeing either of them until he pulled the door shut behind him. The bird froze in his tracks as he took in the scene before him, instantly realizing he had picked a bad time to check in on his best friend as he saw the vulpine holding the vixen in his arms.

"Fox...I had no idea you were awake, or that Krystal was in here. I'm sorry, I er, I just came to check up on you." he replied, grabbing the door knob turning back around.

"No Falco, its okay."

The vulpine felt his heart drop as he heard the words leave her, her body pulling away from his as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. She looked up at him, her gaze still full of emotion as she turned and made her way to the door, her blue tail sticking out of his jogging pants being the last thing he saw before she left his room and his heart with so many still unspoken words.

He sighed and sat down on the side of his bed, feeling slightly annoyed at the falcon for his atrocious timing. The moment had been perfect! He was finally going to tell her he loved her, even though the thought of doing it scared the hell out of him. At least he would finally know if he had a shot with her.

_So close!_

"I take it I walked in at just the right moment?" Falco asked, walking over and sitting down next to the vulpine.

"Yeah, perfect timing Lombardi." he replied shaking his head.

The bird chuckled, he knew what was going on between the two foxes, it was obvious to everyone. But he decided not to pry, knowing that Fox took stuff like this a lot more serious than most.

"So," he said, tapping on the cast that run along his right arm. "How you feeling?"

"Pretty banged up. My head wont stop pounding and my right arm feels like the world's most painful bowl of jello."

"Heh, well you did break through two inches of reinforced glass using nothing but your knuckles and elbow. What did you expect?"

The vulpine shrugged, wincing at the pain that came along with it. "I knew it would hurt, but there was nothing else I could do. Krystal was on the floor and the Arwing just turned itself on and...

Falco raised his wing, cutting him off. "We all know what happened." he said, jerking his head towards the tv. "Slippy pulled the film from the surveillance cam. What we don't know is _how _it happened."

Fox let out a sigh and leaned back against his pillow, fearing that would be the answer he would get. He knew that whoever or whatever caused this to happen could very well still be on the ship, which meant that they were all still in danger, including Krystal.

"I don't know either," he finally replied, "Whoever is behind this could be anywhere."

Falco nodded and brought his hand up to his chin, "We've already checked the ship. There isn't anyone currently on board who hasn't been for the last 3 months, so if the person behind who's behind this is still here he must have waited until yesterday to make his move."

The vulpine tried to raise his right arm, only getting it to shift forward a few inches before letting out another sigh of frustration. "Well, he made a pretty good one. And I'm afraid that he will make another."

"Well," Falco replied, standing up, "You just let me worry about that. You cant do much for the next few weeks with only one arm," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red sharpie, making his way to the other side of the bed to his right arm. "So just take it easy,"

Fox looked down at his cast and saw Falco's flashy signature at the end of it.

"Its going to be hard to take it easy knowing someone on the ship could be trying to kill one, or all of us." he retorted, smacking away the sharpie as Falco tried to balance it on his nose.

"Nah, whoever pulled that little stunt in the hanger will want to lay low for a while before he tries something again. That's why Peppy is going nuts with the security cameras. Next time," he said with a grin, "We'll be ready for them."

The vulpine nodded, thankful that some steps were already being made towards catching whoever was behind this. Just knowing that she was a bit safer without him by her side let him breath easier. He slid off the bed and stood up beside Falco, letting a yawn escape him as he stretched his tight muscles that had been stuck in bed for the last half day.

"I guess you're right." he replied, wincing as he hit his arm on the bedside table. "But don't think I'm completely useless with just one arm."

"Sure sure. Whatever you say McCloud." the falcon replied as he opened the bedroom door. "Just let me know when you want some breakfast and I'll spoon feed you."

The vulpine rolled his eyes and couldn't help but laugh, enjoying the old humor that he and his friend shared even after all these years.

"Oh and don't lose that signature," he added, pointing at the cast, "One day it'll be worth billions."

"Yeah right," he murmured as the bird closed the door behind him. "It'll be worth using as target practice...maybe."

He looked around his room, trying to figure out what to do next. His mind was still stuck on her and all that had been said earlier but he knew that it was long gone now and he could only hope that the next time he saw her that he would have the right words to say.

Looking down he realized for the first time that, other than the cast on his arm, the only thing he was wearing was his boxers, instantly putting a facepalm on everything he had said or done that morning. Sighing yet again he made his way over to his closet and pulled out a pair of blue jogging pants, knowing that it would be both difficult and pointless to get into uniform for the next week. He then found an old black t-shirt and, after a few minutes of working it around his cast finally got it on.

Once again he was left standing in his room trying to figure out what to do next. Before all that had happened yesterday he had been eating breakfast at this time so that's what he decided to go with as he padded across the room and entered the hallway. He hoped he'd see Krystal but she was nowhere in sight and as he made his way past her door he could hear her moving around in her room. Not wanting to get caught just standing there he made his way down the hall and into the lounge, seeing Slippy sitting on the couch watching television with a bowl of cereal in his lap. The vulpine looked up and couldn't help but laugh as he sawthe frog was watching cartoons.

"Hey Slippy."

"Hey Fox, how you feeling?"

"Better. Just my arm and my head hurt like hell," he replied with a chuckle.

The frog nodded quickly before turning his gaze back to the television, instantly unaware of the vulpine's presence once again as he was sucked back into the world of cartoons.

_Just like Slippy to act like a 10 year old in the middle of a war._

He made his way into the kitchen, stepping around Falco who was waiting by the toaster, a determined look on his face. Fox opened the refrigerator and scanned the shelves, looking for something he could eat. He didn't feel too hungry, probably because of the headache, but he knew that if he didn't eat something that it would come back to him in a few hours. So he finally pulled out a package of bagels and managed to get a container of blueberry cream cheese as well before using his foot to push the door closed.

_Well its better than cereal._

"Damnit all!"

The vulpine looked up and seen Falco pulling his toast from the oven, a dark burnt look on all four pieces. The bird pulled out the four pieces and tossed them in the trash, reaching up into the counter above him and pulling out a package of pop-tarts.

"Don't tell me you cant even fix toast right Falco. Even I can do that." the vulpine laughed as he broke a bagel in half and dropped it down into the toaster.

"I watch the damn things every morning yet they always come out black! I think we need a new toaster." he mumbled after taking a bite of one of the pop-tarts.

"Yeah, blame the toaster," Fox replied, grabbing a paper plate and a butter knife to spread the cream cheese with. "I think you'd be better off getting Rob to fix your meals."

The falcon laughed, taking a sip of his coffee before replying, "Hell the way Rob has been acting lately he'd just bring me plain bread or something."

"So you noticed him too?"

"Yeah, I asked him to do a few things yesterday after you were hurt but it was like he was just half listening. It was kinda weird."

Fox nodded, slightly jumping as the bagels popped up from the toaster with a nice golden brown look on them. The vulpine quickly tossed them onto the plate, giving Falco a 'that wasn't so hard now was it?' look before opening the cream cheese.

"Talk about weird," he replied as he struggled to pull back the aluminum cover that was on the container, "I met Rob in the control room yesterday. He just came flying in there like he was on a mission, only to give me a coke."

"Wait, was this right before you went out to the walkway above the hanger?"

The vulpine finally got the cover off the cream cheese and began spreading it on the bagel. "Yeah, right before...that Arwing was told to launch."

The butter knife hit the counter as the two pilots exchanged glances.

"You don't think...

"It's possible." Falco exclaimed, putting a wing to his forehead. "Rob has been acting weird lately and you say he was in the control room right before that Arwing was commanded to launch, I bet Rob was the one who caused it."

Fox leaned against the counter and tried to wrap his head around this new information. Something was definitely up with Rob, and he _did _know how to run anything and everything in the control room. Put that together plus the fact that he was the only one, to their knowledge, who was in there during the launch, it just made perfect sense.

_But why would Rob do that? He's been with us for years and he's always shown us nothing but respect and friendship. Plus...he's a robot!_

"I know it all seems to make perfect sense Falco, but why would Rob want to do something like that? He's never done anything we haven't asked him so why would he start now?"

The bird shrugged and took another bite of his pop-tart, "Like I said, he's been acting weird lately. Maybe he thought that he was supposed launch Slippy's Arwing or maybe someone told Rob to do it."

They both knew that Rob would do anything he was told by any of the crew, but Fox had liked to believe that the robot knew right from wrong and wouldn't be so easily tricked. Letting out a sigh he took a bite from his bagel and tried to think of what to say.

"So we're almost right back to where we started. If anyone could have told Rob to do launch Slippy's plane then we don't know any more than we did before."

"Not necessarily."

The two pilots turned towards the lounge and saw Peppy making his way towards them.

"What do you mean Peppy?" Falco asked, throwing away the wrapper to his pop-tart.

"Excuse me for eavesdropping," he replied, reaching into the cabinet by the fridge and pulling out a nutrigrain bar, "But if what you two think just happens to be the case then I can easily check Rob's memory banks and find out who issued the order for the Arwing to launch. And..." he added pouring himself a cup of coffee. "We'll know for sure if it was Rob alone or someone else."

"Peppy that's great!" the vulpine replied. His mind was beginning to feel so much more at ease as he realized that soon they would at least know who was behind this. Though the vulpine didn't show it, the thought of someone being on board wanting to kill him or his friends kept his fur standing on end, and to make matters worse he couldn't do much about it in his current physical condition.

"We'll know who caused this once and for all." Falco added with a nod. "And I'll be sure to serve them justice for it."

Fox returned his nod but added, "I'm still kind of hoping that it was just a malfunction on Rob's part though. I don't like the fact that someone could so easily get on board our ship and deceive us all for so long."

"Well," Peppy said, taking a step towards the lounge, "Why don't we go find out right now? It doesn't take but a few minutes to check his memory banks. All I have to do is pull down the console and read down the list of commands he has been given until I find the one from yesterday."

Falco smacked his hands together and stood straight up, "Sounds good. I'm ready to get this behind us."

"Ditto." Fox added, following them through the lounge. "Hey Slippy,"

"Wha?" the amphibian asked, barely looking away from the television.

"Uh, nothing, never mind."

_It's not like we'll need him. And I'd hate to tear him away from his cartoons._

The vulpine grinned and took another bite from his bagel as he entered the hallway behind Falco and Peppy. "So where's Rob?" Falco asked as they left the hallway and entered the control room.

"To be honest I have no idea. That's why I came here. We can call him up here from the PA system and then check his memory from the master computer." Peppy replied, leaning forward and hitting the PA button.

"Rob you are needed in the control room. Rob to the control room."

Instantly the door that led down to the hanger flew open and Rob rolled into the middle of the room. "I am here. What assistance do you require?"

"Damn that was fast." Falco muttered.

"He must have been on his way up," Fox replied, taking the last bite of his bagel.

"No assistance needed Rob, I just needed to check your logs." Peppy replied, pulling out a cord from the desk drawer behind him.

"Why?"

All three pilots slowly exchanged glances, Rob had never asked 'Why?' before when given an order or being told something. He had always simply processed it and done what he was told. This part of Rob was new to them.

"Er, well, we need to figure out if you were the one who launched that Arwing yesterday. And if you were," he added, opening the control panel on Rob's backside. "We need to figure out if it was an order given by someone else or if you did it as a result of a malfunction or a virus."

The hare had just located the right port to hook the cable up to when Rob manually closed his control panel, Peppy barely getting his paw out of the way.

"Cannot allow." Rob replied, his white robotic gaze turning and resting on the vulpine.

"What do you mea...

Before Peppy could continue Rob instantly took off in reverse, shooting through the doorway and down into the hanger. Fox looked over at Falco and Peppy who both seemed stunned, if only for a moment.

"Something is definitely wrong with Rob," Falco murmured.

"Should we go after him?" Fox asked, looking over at Peppy.

"Well we cant let him roam around the ship doing whatever he wants. We need to get to him and shut him down so I can figure out whats gotten into him."

Fox and Falco exchanged a nod and jogged down the stairs and into the hanger, trying to figure out where Rob had gotten off to. It didn't take them long to figure out where he went as the few members of the crew that were on board told them where the white blur had went flying by. Eventually they made their way to the back of the ship and into the storage compartment where they kept all of their supplies.

"What would Rob be doing back here?" Falco asked, flipping on the lights.

"I'm not sure," Fox replied, instinctively reaching for his blaster but only feeling the pocket of his jogging pants. "But we better not let our guard down. The way Rob has been acting lately I wouldn't put anything past him."

Falco nodded and made his way through the crates and boxes of supplies that were stacked around them. The vulpine was grateful for the feel of suspense and action, it took his mind off of the throbbing headache he had and the cast that reminded him that he couldn't use his right arm.

Eventually they came to the last large crate full of, what he could only guess was, reserve supplies or emergency equipment.

"Okay we must have been mislead," Falco said after looking around and seeing nothing. "Because Rob isn't back here."

"Well," the vulpine replied scratching his neck, "He cant hide forever. Someone will run across him before too...

The vulpine was interrupted as a loud 'whooshing' sound came from their left. The two pilots ran through the large crates just in time to see the ship's only escape pod jettison out into space, Rob's short block like body staring out the window of the pod back at the two.

"Rob? What the hell are you doing!" Falco yelled, raising his arms in the air.

There was a sudden beeping sound and Falco pulled out his phone and put Peppy on speaker, "The computer just shows that the escape pod was launched. I don't guess you or Fox would be on board would you?"

"No," Falco replied. "But I bet you can guess who is."

Peppy let out a sigh and in the background they heard Slippy enter the room.

"Hey what was that noise?" he asked Peppy, milk still on his lips.

Without letting Peppy reply Fox spoke into Falco's phone, "Slippy! Rob just took off in an escape pod, we need you to get in an Arwing and track him before he gets too far away."

Slippy jumped in surprise as Fox's voice seemed to come from nowhere. Peppy held up his phone, and the frog instantly understood, his face finally showing a look of seriousness. "Sure thing Fox!" the frog took off towards the door, stopping right before he left, "I'll take Falco's Arwing, just make sure I'm ready to launch and that the runway is clear."

Peppy nodded and looked back down into his phone, "You two get back up here, Slippy will be fine on his own."

Falco nodded and closed his phone, looking over at the vulpine and letting out a sigh. "Well that wasn't exactly what I had expected."

"Yeah I know," he replied, leading the way back to the entrance of the storage facility, "I don't know why Rob is doing this but he should know that an escape pod cant out run one of our Arwings."

The two decided to head up the back stairway that would allow them to enter the hallway right beside the control room rather than having to go through the hanger. By the time they had gotten back into the hallway Krystal stepped out of her room, still wearing the clothes she had been wearing earlier that morning and for a moment causing the vulpine to remember holding her in his arms once more.

He saw Falco take a quick glance at them before continuing on to the control room, leaving the two foxes alone in the hallway. For a second he couldn't think of anything to say as he simply stood there looking into her beautiful gaze.

"I guess you heard the noise?" he finally asked, his nerves getting the best of him.

"Yeah," she replied looking down at his cast. "What was it?"

"Rob, believe it or not. He took off when we were trying to read his memory banks to figure out who caused all of this." he said with a chuckle raising his cast and trying to lighten the mood.

"_I _caused all of that," she murmured, nodding at the cast.

A growl of annoyance escaped his throat as he saw the look of guilt and pain cross her face yet again. He was tired of seeing her like this, tired of her feeling guilty because of something that couldn't have been stopped. It was _his _decision to bust open the canopy to that Arwing, if his arm's current state was anyone's fault it was his own. Before he could stop himself he leaned forward and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into an embrace and simply going on instinct now. He didn't know how she would react but he just couldn't stand seeing her like this. She was too beautiful to be walking around looking sad and depressed for him.

"Fox...

"Krystal, no matter what you think, none of what happened is your fault." he said, resting his muzzle on her shoulder. "I told you I would die for you."

He felt her body ease away from his own and he looked up, expecting her to be walking away, but instantly realizing he was wrong as he felt her mouth meet his in a kiss. The shock slowly left his face as he put his arms around her once more and returned the feeling, knowing that he had been dreaming about this moment since day one. He felt her paws wrap around his neck as she pulled him closer, urging him on for as long as possible. He couldn't help but ease forward until she was pressed up against her bedroom door, still pressing the kiss on for seconds more.

Finally he felt her mouth leave his, her nose brushing his own as she pulled away and stared at the ground.

"Krystal-

"Fox, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

He began to ask her what she meant, knowing that both of them had loved it more than anything, but her hand slipped down to her door handle and before he could stop her it closed in his face, her tear filled eyes the last thing he seen. He reached down and took the handle in his paw, ready to go in there and make things right once and for all, but suddenly Falco came around the corner, an annoyed look in his eyes as he yet again interrupted the vulpine's intentions.

Regrettably Fox turned away from Krystal's room and focused on Falco. "Whats wrong? Did Slippy lose Rob?"

"Hell no," Falco muttered, opening his bedroom door. "He never even got out of the hanger."

"What? How come?"

"Because," he said drawing his hand into a fist, "None of the Arwing's had a drop of fuel. I guess we know who's behind that as well."

The falcon closed his door, leaving the vulpine alone in the hallway, his problems now coming from two sides.

_Rob got away, meaning we still don't know who is behind all of this. But even worse, Krystal thinks its all her fault and I cant seem to make it any better._

_000_

Cut, print, check the gate, moving on. (IOW end of the chapter)

I think I did okay on this one. I strayed away from the story basically all weekend but got back into it finally. So once again, I hope you can bear with my mistakes and sloppy writing. I like to believe I'm getting a little better at least, but I still feel like I'm rushing the relationship between those two in these past few chapters.

Oh well. I'll try to do better.

Anyway, next chapter in a week prolly but hopefully sooner.


	4. Chapter 4

Excuse me for the short chapter, its not my best work either but Dell decided to drop a bomb on my laptop and its been out of commission for the past few days so I ended up throwing this chapter together at the last minute, something I REALLY hate doing. I feel as if I skipped through the scenes a bit faster than usual but work and school are punching me in the face and I cant stay awake long enough to type lately.

Anyways, enough about me...

Action...

She was wearing an extremely tight t-shirt and blue jogging pants that were rolled up to her knees. Her mouth worked against his own as she urged him on, telling the vulpine to go deeper with the kiss despite the lack of air their lungs were being subjected to. He did his best to take in the amazing scene before him, the vixen's luscious body sprawled out on top of his own, her clothes hugging every tight curve on her as she lustfully held on to him, working her tongue against his in the unbelievable act. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even tighter against him, brushing his muzzle with hers only briefly before diving back into the world of pleasure as he connected his lips with hers.

Everything felt amazing. Her eyes were full of love and happiness and a lustful smile tugged on her lips as she went deeper into the kiss. She no longer felt bad over what had happened, especially after he'd told her he loved her. It was all she had needed to hear before she fell into his arms and said she loved him back.

Now everything was right.

He slowly pulled his lips away from hers, savoring her taste for as long as possible before bringing his right arm up to her face and brushing away the hair from her beautiful green eyes.

_Wait, what happened to my cast?_

The vulpine's eyes flashed open and he was greeted by the ceiling above his bed, causing him to let out a sigh.

_That was the best dream ever.  
_

He took a few seconds to adjust to the light before easing out of bed and stretching, looking over at the clock which read 6 am. He held back a yawn and sleepily made his way to the bathroom where he, after a few seconds of maneuvering, slid out of his shirt and pants and stepped in the shower. The vulpine found it hard to focus on bathing though as his dream kept returning to his thoughts, his mind still picturing Krystal's beautiful body on top of his own as he returned her kiss.

"I'd break my other arm if I could dream about that every night." he murmured, rubbing body wash around his waterproof cast. (yeah they have those)

But as he was drying off it wasn't the memory of the dream that stuck in his thoughts constantly, rather the recollection of the actual kiss that he had received from the vixen moments after Rob had escaped. Krystal had done it with such passion that he was sure that she knew he loved her, but then...then she apologized for it and left him standing in the hall like an idiot. He didn't know what to make of it. Was it his fault? He knew that Krystal shouldn't have apologized, for anything. Not the Arwing taking off, not him breaking his arm, not Rob escaping, and especially not for kissing him like she did.

He let a yawn escape him as he found another t-shirt and put on the same pair of jogging pants and made his way to the bedroom door. It was Sunday, even if the crew wasn't on break all week they would still take this day easy. But the more he thought about it the more he realized that may not be true. They had a rogue service bot in a hijacked escape pod floating somewhere in distant space and they had to find out where. As of now Rob was the only one who had any evidence about what had caused all of this and no one knew where he was.

Sure Peppy had called in the event to General Pepper and he had his men on the lookout for them but Fox wasn't holding his breath. Unless the Cornerian troops took it upon themselves to fly all the way out into deep space where GreatFox currently was then they wouldn't even be looking in the right direction for Rob.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, especially after the shower, the vulpine had made his way into the lounge and cast a glance towards the kitchen. Food didn't appeal to him at the moment, it never did right after he woke up. He stifled yet another yawn and looked towards the large three piece couch in front of the tv, debating whether or not if he should kill time by watching television or doing something else. He decided to go with the latter, figuring that he would have plenty of time for lying around and watching television later on.

Instead he made his way out of the lounge and entered the bridge, looking down at the dimly lit hanger below him where he could see the dark form of their Arwings sitting side by side. He once again couldn't help but let his mind wander back to her. Both the dream and the real thing still whirled around in his head as he imagined kissing the vixen once more, this time for real and with no apology afterward.

_Maybe today will be better._

He tried to imagine what it would be like when he saw her again. Would she be embarrassed? Sad? Nervous or maybe even happy? The vulpine couldn't figure that out. Krystal was impossible to read to him. He wasn't sure if it was her quiet attitude along with her amazing talent, or simply just her beauty, but she blew his mind every time he thought about her and he knew that he would have to say something to make things better before long.

He had made his way down into the hanger and was standing beside his Arwing, running his one good hand down the nose of the amazing plane and enjoying the feeling of power that it bestowed in him. The vulpine knew that regardless of what happened in the next couple of days, as long as he could still get inside this plane and fly through space and fight for what he knew was right, then he would always have something in common with the sapphire vixen.

_Just wait until my arm heals. If we haven't found out who's behind all this by then I can guarantee that, whoever they are, will be wishing that we had found them while I still only had one working limb. _

He knew he could still fly the Arwing, even with just one arm. After all the years of experience he had behind him he figured he could pilot the plane with just two fingers if need be.

_Lets hope it doesn't come to that._

He debated jumping inside the Arwing and taking off, knowing that he always did some of his best thinking when behind the controls of his plane. But eventually he let out a sigh and shook his head, figuring that he'd wake up the entire crew during launch, something he didn't want to do on Sunday.

He gave his Arwing a final pat on the side before making his way back up to the control room, casting only a quick glance at the computer before stopping in his tracks and taking in the scene before him. He looked over the computer's screen which had live footage streaming from every area on the ship, even their bedrooms. Apparently Peppy had gone the extra mile when wanting to catch the one behind all this. The vulpine looked down and awkwardly placed his left hand on the mouse, leading the cursor up to the top row where it showed all the bedrooms, including the crew that was on board with them.

_How did I miss this when I came through? This is impressive._

He found his room and clicked on the square, the feed instantly becoming larger and easier to see. He noticed a playback bar on the bottom that was set in sync with the clock and he couldn't help but click on it and pull it back until it read 6am, precisely the time that he had gotten up. The vulpine watched the screen for a few seconds and sure enough before too long he seen himself slide out of bed and stretch before heading to the shower.

"Okay. This is also creepy," he whispered, fast forwarding the feed until he saw himself quickly walk out of the room and enter the hallway.

_Did Peppy not think that this was an invasion of our privacy? Hell I didn't even know there _was _a camera in my room._

He looked to the options bar on the side of the recording and clicked on the 'Return to Live Recording' option, allowing his eyes to look across the rest of his friends room's before finally resting on Krystal. He could see her body sprawled out on the bed, the red jogging pants and blue t-shirt she was wearing just barely visible through the dim light. He knew that if anyone caught him just standing there staring at the vixen as she slept they would get the wrong idea, but he just had to check one more thing before he left.

Thinking back to the day before he slid the cursor back on the recording until it read just about the time he was sure that she had left him in the hallway after the kiss. Of course he had been so stunned and confused afterward that he couldn't remember if it was 12pm or 3, but it was after Rob had gotten away, and that was after they had tried to search his memory, and _that _was after they had eaten breakfast. So it had to be around lunch time right?

_I shouldn't be doing this. But I just want to know what happened afterward._

He watched the screen with curiosity, wondering if Krystal knew about the small hidden camera in her room as well. Just because Peppy didn't tell him doesn't mean he didn't tell anyone right? You cant just install an entire surveillance system without telling the team where you are going to hide microscopic cameras. He began to wonder if his bathroom might have been bugged as well but a movement on the screen caught his eye and he slowed down the video to real time, watching the vixen step into her room.

"That's right after the kiss." he whispered to himself.

The fox had backed into her room, reminding him that he had pushed her up against the bedroom door when they were kissing. She pushed the door shut and turned around, falling against it and sliding down to the floor, pulling her knees to her face and resting her head on them.

The vulpine looked to the side of the screen and found that the audio had been muted so he clicked the box and turned the volume up to where he could hear the vixen.

"Why did I do that? That was so stupid of me." she clenched her fists and leaned her head back against the door, a look of embarrassment and regret on her face.

_It wasn't stupid, it was amazing._

The vixen sat there for a few minutes more, not saying anything else out loud but obviously thinking about what she had done. Eventually she stood up and made her way over to the closet by her bed, the camera following her every move from the corner of the ceiling. For a few seconds she just rested her head against the door, obviously still fighting herself because of what she had done until she slowly pulled off her shirt and slid out of the jogging pants, leaving only a pink bra and panties covering her amazing sapphire body as she looked through her wardrobe for something else to wear.

"My god, she's so beautiful...

He knew that she would kill him if she knew he was watching this but the vulpine couldn't tear his gaze away from the tight curves of her body as she found another shirt and a pair of white jeans and slid them on, reminding him that she had worn them around the ship yesterday for the few minutes she came out of her room. The vixen paused for a second and looked down at the floor, slowly bending over and picking up her blue and black uniform and holding it to her chest.

At first he wasn't sure why she was so attached to it until she laid it down on her bed, showing him the blood that was all over the front from when she had found him after he stopped the Arwing. She had yet to wash it and his blood had become dark and stained the front of it. He was no expert on clothes but if there was one thing he knew it was that after blood set in for as long as it had on her uniform it would hardly ever come out.

"It must have hurt him so much to have done that."

He shifted his gaze back over to the vixen as she spoke to herself, a pained look in her eyes as she once again played the video in her mind, seeing the vulpine grit his teeth in agony as he busted open the canopy.

She sat down on the bed next to the blood stained uniform, running her paw across the larger stain and feeling the dried texture on her fingertips. "I know its my fault Fox. No matter how many times you try to tell me it wasn't." She let out a sigh and leaned back on the bed.

The vulpine lowered his gaze down to the keyboard, resting his sight on the cast that ran up his arm.

_She still feels guilty because of all of this._

"What you did was all because of me, and I know that you're okay now but...its just the pain that I know you had to go through to do it. I saw the video, I cant get it out of my head. What you did to save me...it had to hurt you so bad."

_Not for you._

"I, I love you so much."

He jerked his head up as the words left her mouth.

_She loves me?_

Krystal was holding her uniform to her chest, tears visible on her face even from the far away distance of the camera. "I want to tell you so bad," she whispered, "But I know that we're just teammates. We're supposed to protect each other and act professional. That's what you're saying isn't it?"

_Fuck being professional! We're mercenaries not soldiers. _

"I meant I'd do it because I love you," he said to himself, "Not just because we're teammates."

He knew that he'd also die for any other of his teammates as well if it was what it took to save his friends lives, but with Krystal there was something so much stronger in comparison to the others. He would do so much more for her just to make sure she was happy. And if that meant breaking every bone in his body then so be it.

"I'll still love him. Even if he doesn't feel the same way." her voice was barely a whisper but it was loud enough for him.

He returned the camera to its live feed, sitting in the chair and allowing the realization of what she had said to sink in. Now he knew she loved him, something that he had wanted to know for almost a year. Everything was different now.

"She loves me...I cant believe it." he said, shaking his head. He looked around the control room one last time, making sure that everything was the way it had been when he entered before making his way back across the bridge and into the lounge.

_So she really loves me and she just doesn't think I feel the same way about her? Does that mean I can tell her how I feel now?_

He knew it wouldn't be that simple but at the moment he allowed his optimism to take the wheel and drive, something that he hardly ever did. He made his way into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal before making his way over to the couch, flipping on the tv and allowing ESPN to play in the background of his thoughts. He took a bite of the cereal, his mind still more focused on replaying her words over and over in his head than eating his breakfast.

_'I love you so much.' _

_I cant believe she loves me. She's so beautiful, someone like her couldn't possibly feel that way about me._

The clock on the tv showed that it was a little past 7am, but since it was Sunday he knew that most of the team would sleep in if they could. His mind raced as he thought about the vixen, trying to think of a way to tell her he loved her, to kiss her once again and not have to worry about her becoming upset because of it. He finished the bowl of cereal and took it into the kitchen and dropped it in the sink, turning towards the lounge and trying to figure out what to do next.

"Should I go talk to her now or wait until I meet her later on in the day?" he whispered to himself, tapping his fingers on the counter top.

_Wait...what am I even going to say to her? Just walk up and say, "I love you" is that all I have to do? It cant be that simple can it? _

He let out a growl of frustration, realizing that even though he knew she felt the same way about him as he did her that he still couldn't figure out a way to tell her. There wasn't nearly as much pressure now that he knew she loved him back but he still wasn't sure how to go about telling her.

_I've wanted this all along. I've got to find some way to tell her; some perfect situation where I can just hold her in my arms and tell her how I feel. Just like yesterday. _

"Maybe I should just wait until the moment presents itself. If she really does love me then I'm sure that it will all work out."

_Plus I'm not the most romantic guy in the galaxy either. All I know is I love her and want her to be by my side forever._

He nodded to himself and found his way back to the couch where he plopped down and began to channel surf. So much had happened to him just this morning, he had learned something that he had been trying to figure out for months. And now that he finally knew the answer to that question all he had to do was find a way to put it all together. But would it be that simple?

000

Author's Note: I know this chapter wasn't great but my cpu crashed and I only managed to get it up and running Monday night. Sadly it crashed last Thursday so I hadn't but started on this chapter. That is why this chapter is so short, and probably a bit thrown together at the last minute, but I told you people I would have it up by tonight and I did. I know this chapter seemed a little more emotional and boring but its leading up to what I hope is a very interesting upcoming chapter.

-BTW I'm leaving for Florida this coming Saturday, Spring Break (yeah Disney World, shouldn't be too crowded right? heh) and I don't know if that means I will get to type on this story more than usual or less. I also have no idea if the hotel we are staying at will have wifi or free internet but I'm sure that somewhere in Orlando I can hop on a connection long enough to upload the next chapter right? Right? :P


	5. Chapter 5

Yay on the way to Florida for vacation! What better way to pass the time than type fanfiction in the back seat of a van while listening to my 14 month brother scream at my 10 yr old sister while she hisses at my 16 yr old brother. (Thank God I'm 18 and sane, I'm busting out of this place in 3 months)

anywho...action!

000

"I told you it wouldn't work."

"Shut up! How do you know this wasn't part of the plan?"

"Because we went over the plan remember? Control the robot from here, have it launch the Arwing and hope McCloud gets killed in the process...and anyone else who happened to be in the area I guess."

"Not Krystal. Cant you remember anything I tell you? You gave Rob the command to launch the Arwing at the worst possible time! She's the one I want to keep alive!"

The wolf shrugged and leaned back in his chair, not really caring about the love life of the black panther so long as he could get Fox out of the picture.

(*For the sake of the story lets just assume that team StarFox and StarWolf have met and Krystal knows that Panther loves her. Quite a bit of loopholes in comparison to how the actual storyline goes but you get the idea)

"Not that I care," he said in a questioning tone, "But if she found out it was us who tried to kill her stupid little friends then wouldn't she, ah hell I don't know, hate your guts?"

Panther allowed a smirk to cross his lips as he stood up and looked out across the bridge, "She can think whatever she wants of me," he said in a sly voice, "As long as I have her here for myself."

Wolf narrowed his gaze and stared at the back of the cat, he had agreed to the idea of capturing the robot while Fox and his team were on Corneria but that was when he had his own intentions in mind. Now Panther was thinking more about that vixen and how he could make her his own than he was the original objective.

Killing Fox McCloud.

"So here's what we are going to do," Caruso said, turning around to face the wolf. "We'll keep the robot with us but we'll send the escape pod back out into space, directly towards GreatFox."

"Giving them a one way ticket to the location of our ship if we don't move."

"Exactly," the panther replied, "But we _will_ have moved by then and will be waiting nearby for an ambush."

O'Donnel put his paw to his chin and thought the idea over. He was the leader of the ship and made all the calls but lately Panther seemed to be the one coming up with ideas, and they were damn good ones at that. He could see the jealousy in his eyes though, a hatred burned in them, a hatred that longed for the death of Fox McCloud almost as strong as himself. Krystal had only been with them a short time but it had been long enough to drive Panther insane after she left him and returned to GreatFox, where he had been sure that Fox was sweeping her off her feet.

Now Panther seemed determined to stop at nothing short of the having the vulpine dead and the vixen's body sprawled out on his bed for him to claim.

"All right Caruso." he finally replied. "I'll go along with your plan but don't think I don't know your true intentions." The wolf stood up from his chair and cracked his knuckles together before adding, "Just don't let that get in the way of our real objective."

The panther nodded and continued to look out across the hanger at their planes, knowing he would be using his within the hour to kill the vulpine that stole his most prized possession.

_You will be mine Krystal, and that worthless fox wont be around to stop me from getting what I want. Not this time. _

"So," the voice came from the back of the room, "When are we putting this _amazing_ plan into action?"

"Right now Pigma. Right now."

-Back on GreatFox: 1 hour later

The vulpine waited in the background as the rest of the crew stood around Peppy, the hare showing them all the new surveillance system that he had set up. He didn't bother listening, having found out on his own earlier that morning. In fact he wasn't sure he could listen even if he wanted to as his gaze kept returning back to the blue vixen in front of him and he couldn't help but shudder in amazement as he looked over her body. He wasn't sure if it was fate or just luck that she was wearing exactly what had been on her in his dream the other night but the vulpine was grateful for it none the less as he eyed the tight white t-shirt and blue jogging pants that she had rolled up to her knees.

_She hasn't said a word to me all morning but she cant look at me without blushing. Is that good or bad?_

He shot his gaze back up to Peppy as the vixen turned her head back towards him. He casually caught her gaze and grinned, getting a small smile in return before the vixen turned her attention back to Peppy. Something told the vulpine that she had already known about the cameras and that her mind was on something entirely different at the moment, causing him to wish he was Cerenian as well so he could just get an idea of what was running through her head.

_I can tell she's still guilty, I don't have to be able to read minds to figure that much out. But is that a good sign or a bad one?_

"You don't think that this is an invasion of our privacy?"

The vulpine returned his gaze to the group and listened in as Falco voiced his opinion on the hidden camera in his room.

"I agree that it is a tad bit invading of one's space but..."

"A tad bit?" Falco asked, his eyes wide with surprise. "Peppy, with these in our rooms we might as well go out on the bridge to take a shower!"

The hare put a paw to his forehead and let out a sigh, "Yes but you didn't let me finish. What I was going to say is that all of the cameras are for recording purposes only. They are meant to store the feeds in the computer's memory banks where they will be kept for reference if needed."

"Meaning no one will be watching them unless someone else gets hurt really bad again right?"

The vulpine stiffened and cast a glance at Krystal as the words left Slippy's mouth. Sure enough she dropped her head and looked away and he could easily guess what thoughts where running through her head as Falco elbowed the toad in the ribs to shut him up.

"Right," Peppy murmured, trying to keep the awkwardness at a minimum. "So don't worry about someone watching your every move because I am the only one who knows the code to pull up the live feeds."

_Way to go Slippy! As if Krystal wasn't already feeling bad about all this._

"There, problem solved," he said stepping forward and putting his hand on Falco's shoulder. "We have cameras up all over the ship ready to catch anyone who causes a problem and you don't have to worry about being spied on unless you're the one causing them."

"I guess," he replied, shaking the vulpine's paw off, "But I still don't like the fact that there's a camera in my room,"

"Deal with it."

The falcon rolled his eyes and turned towards the hallway, "Sure sure, whatever. I'm gonna chill in the lounge for a while.,"

"That sounds pretty good right now," Slippy added, following him.

"Stop following me...

"I'm not! You don't _own _the lounge Falco."

"You didn't want to go there till I did."

Fox felt a paw rest on his shoulder and turned to see Peppy's concerned expression as he nodded towards the other exit. The vulpine turned and managed to catch the tip of Krystal's tail before it vanished around the door as she made her way out to the bridge. He returned the hare's nod and followed her, knowing that any moment that the two foxes were alone could be the moment he would tell he how he felt.

_It all seems so simple now. For once things might actually be easy for me._

He rounded the corner, hitting the switch on the wall to close the door behind him as he came face to face with the blue fox. He couldn't help but admire the attire she had on once more, reminding him of his amazing dream with the vixen the night before.

_Focus! Just talk to her, let things play themselves out._

"So," he said, following her gaze to the floor, "You like the camera idea that Peppy had?"

_Oh well lets not be too formal shall we?_

"I guess its a good idea," she replied, still looking down at the floor. "At least now if I screw up something we'll know who to pass the blame on to."

"Don't say that Krystal."

"Sorry,"

"Don't say that either."

"Fox...

"You have to stop feeling bad for what happened."

"I cant just stop feeling guilty for something that was entirely my fault."

"Stop saying that!"

The vixen's ears pinned down against her head at the intensity in his voice but she could sense that it wasn't anger that was stirring these words, it was something far more complex. He reached forward and put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her around to face him before continuing.

"This was not your fault." he replied steadily, holding up his cast arm. "_This _is nobody's fault but my own. I made the decision to bust the canopy open to save you, and I'd do it all over again if necessary."

He held his hand on her shoulder and met her gaze, neither of them sure of what to say next but not wanting to look away from the other.

"Why?" she whispered, placing her paw over his. "Just tell me why you would do something like that for me."

_Finally_

"Because," he said, leaning forward. "I...

(CRASH) lol

The moment came to an abrupt halt as the loud sound of metal colliding with steel flowed throughout the ship, causing everyone to jump to their senses. Regrettably he stepped away from the vixen as the door to the command room flew open and Peppy signaled them inside. He took one last glance at her, knowing that he had been so close to finally telling her what had been on his heart for months.

_So close...again. What could it possibly be this time?_

She stepped up beside him and let out a sigh before making her way to the command post, tail dragging on the floor. The vulpine gritted his teeth in frustration and followed her, almost convinced that fate didn't want him and the vixen to have the alone time he had been so desperately trying to get.

"Its the same one?"

"Yep, except this time its empty."

"But how? Or why?"

"I don't know Slippy," Peppy replied with a shrug, "But we can easily find out."

"Whats happened?" Fox asked, stepping to the front of the room. "Did we hit something or someone?"

"Well we hit something, or it hit us rather, but I'm willing to bet that _someone _is behind it." the hare replied.

"What was it?"

"The escape pod that Rob took off in." Falco replied from the back of the room.

"Really? And Rob?"

"Not in there." Peppy continued, "In fact, the pod had been programmed to fly directly towards our ship after it had been docked."

"By who?"

"I don't know. But once we get the pod back inside the GreatFox I can at least find out the location of the ship that launched it, and maybe more depending on how smart the guy is who launched it."

"What I'm wondering," Falco interrupted, "Is if Rob went to this ship purposely or if he was just fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to run into someone else out in deep space."

"Well they sure were nice to return our escape pod," Slippy said with a grin.

"Yeah but they kept Rob, and that's enough of a reason to investigate." Fox added with a nod towards Falco and Peppy.

"Well alright then." the hare said, smacking his hands together. "Lets dock that escape pod and before too long we'll be one step closer to solving at least part of this mystery."

End Chapter

Authors Note: okay well I've been in FL the past few days and its been super busy for me. In fact I typed most of this chapter while in the car on the way down and it made me very sick to my stomach so I decided to stop after awhile. Its a short chapter but I promise once I get back in Ky I'll shape them up. Its just hectic here with universal studios and Disney and sea world and the beach and ect...but I'll do better next week.

I'm also submitting this chapter at 3am so if the last 3rd of the story seems sorry then you'll understand that I was running on fumes while typing it.


	6. Chapter 6

Authors Note: Okay so I started on this chapter on the drive home from Florida at 11pm and quit at 4am. But I have to admit...this is perhaps one of my best chapters ever. I know you guys wont like how it plays out, at least not until a few more chapters, but I really do think that you will agree with me when I say this is a pretty well typed chapter. Its decent right? And with a SUPER twist in the end that no one expected.

Please note that all stories are different and in this one I portray StarWolf a lot more eviler than most. Especially Panther.

With that being said...

000

"Nothing over here,"

"Yeah its clear on my side as well. Are you sure this is the direction the escape pod came from Peppy?"

"Of course I am," he replied through the team's headgear, "Finding out that much was a walk in the park. But..."

"But that doesn't mean that whoever sent it our way is still going to be in the exact same place," Fox finished, curving the to the right to avoid a small cluster of asteroids.

"Exactly," Peppy replied, a hint of regret in his voice. "And I still cant believe you decided to partake in this with your broken arm. What happens if you get in a fight?"

"Fox isn't _completely_ useless," Falco interrupted, adding emphasis to the word. "If we run up on someone we'll have his back."

"Still...piloting an Arwing in combat is something I've yet to see anyone do perfectly."

"Well there's a first time for everything."

A halfhearted chuckle ran through the headsets as the team continued to sweep the area of space that Peppy had confirmed as the origin of the escape pod. After docking it and allowing Peppy a few minutes of technical work the team had jumped into their Arwings and blasted off in the general direction that it had came from; no one really surprised when he had insisted on joining them even with his arm in a cast. In fact the only opposition he faced was an unspoken one, coming from the worried and concerned look in the vixen's beautiful green eyes.

He could have called himself a Cerinian at that moment. He could so easily read her thoughts and emotions as he cast her one last glance before hopping down into his Arwing, her gaze meeting his and begging him to make it through this mission unharmed, a thought that he only echoed for her just as strong. Now he could hardly see her outline through the canopy of her Arwing to his left. She had spoken only to report that her sector was clear or when asked a question by another one of the teammates, but other than that her mind was still stuck back on the ship, on the bridge with him holding her.

The vulpine didn't know how sensitive the Cerinian was. He didn't understand how the past few days of emotionally draining experiences had put a strain on her heart that was almost too much to bear. He didn't know that she was thinking about leaving the fox behind for his own good because it would be better for the team, because without her things would be back to normal again and no one would have to worry about being harmed or even killed because of her.

Instead he could only face forward and pilot his Arwing the best he could with his one good arm, which was still practically flawless.

_I just wonder how I'll be able to cope under combat. Maybe I wont have to find out just yet though. Maybe we can just get this over with and get back on the ship and I can focus on her 100%._

"Hey I got something over here," Falco said, cutting off to the right.

The team of four followed suit and cut to their 3 o'clock, heading in the direction of Falco's Arwing. At first none of them could see anything out of the ordinary but as they caught up with Falco they all noticed what had caught the birds attention.

"What is it? What do you guys see?" Peppy asked.

From the distance no one could actually answer the hare's question, only seeing a white spec gleaming in dark space. But as the made it closer the answer became just as clear as it was confusing.

"It's Rob."

"Surprise!"

The loud scream came over their headsets and the vulpine instantly recognized the dry cackle of Leon Powalski followed by a line of tracers that ran up along the side of his Arwing. Jerking his head around he could see the ships of Wolf, Panther, and Pigma following suit as they dove down from above them. He jerked the controls to the left and span out of the chameleon's cross hairs, diving down the best he could with his one good arm and pulling back up, now heading in the opposite direction.

Looking around once again he could see that the teams had scattered and that the empty area of space was now active with tracers flying in every direction from the eight planes. He spotted Leon once again, this time taking his customary position behind Falco, who's Arwing was decently damaged from the ambush. Next he managed to find Slippy, his left wing completely black from a blast from Pigma's cannon as he tried to outmaneuver the pig. Finally taking one last desperate glance to his left he saw Krystal, her plane still unscathed as she disappeared behind a large asteroid with Panther directly on her six.

_If he harms her I'll make that wimpy cat wish he had never been born._

His thoughts were brought back to the fight as a deep menacing voice came over his headset.

"Well McCloud, looks like you took the bait on this one."

"Wolf! So you have to ambush us to make it a fair fight?"

"Ambush?" The wolf laughed and fell in behind the fox, "With your broken arm I could have had Leon take you out. You brought his upon yourself."

"Wait..." he replied, rolling to the left to avoid the tracers that wolf teasingly threw at him. "How did you know my arm was broken?"

"He hasn't figured it out yet Wolf. What an idiot!" Pigma snorted, turning his attention back to Slippy in his struggling Arwing. "They are stupider than I thought."

"The same way we figured out how to hack into your communications channel and listen in on everything you say. That little robot of yours sure knew a lot of secrets."

"It was you? You were the ones behind all of this?" Peppy said over the headset.

"Good job grandpa." Leon hissed, raking another line of tracers along Falco's Arwing. "Just a few days late too I might add."

The vulpine pulled up on the controls, looking around the area and trying to find his teammates. His search was cut short as he felt his Arwing shake with the impact of yet another blaster from O'Donnell's Wolfen, causing him to painfully use both arms to try and roll out of the line of fire.

"If you know so much," Fox replied, trying to get inside the turn of Wolf's plane. "Then you should have known that I don't need but one arm to defeat you!"

He cut off on the throttle and hit the left rudder, spinning around and catching the left side of Wolf's Arwing in his crosshairs. A satisfied grin crossed his lips as his lasers impacted the side of his Wolfen, causing him to curse and roll out of the chase before falling in behind Falco alongside Leon.

"One StarFox member is as good as another." he said, joining in with Leon as the two blasted away at Falco's ship.

"A little help would be nice!" he yelled, swerving back and forth as he tried to dodge the blasters.

Fox felt his Arwing ignite and was pushed back into his seat as he took off after Wolf and Leon, looking up to see Slippy only for a second, his Arwing now in pretty bad shape as the more experienced Pigma toyed with him.

_He wont make it much longer. I only asked him to come for reconnaissance reasons, not for fighting. Pigma will kill him before too long. _

"Slippy," he said, cutting inside a line of asteroids, "I want you to get back to StarFox as fast as possible. Help Peppy get here asap."

"Oh look he's retreating." Pigma laughed, firing another blast down at the frog. "How pathetic. This wasn't a challenge at all."

"I cant leave you guys! We're a...

"Do what I said! You're no help with your Arwing like it is! Just use your speed over Pigma's and get back to the ship! Now!"

The vulpine had never yelled at one of his teammates like that before and for a moment the entire channel was silent, the only sound being the cackle of Leon's voice as he landed yet another shot on Falco. Looking behind him he seen Krystal spinning around a group of asteroids, Panther still easily on her tail, and he could only wonder why she or the cat had yet to say anything.

"All right Fox." Slippy murmured, ignoring another blast from Pigma's Wolfen.

"Should I kill him or let him run like the coward he is?" Pigma asked, closing in on Slippy.

Wolf let out a chuckle, turning to intercept Fox as he drew closer. "Let him go. I want him to live with the guilt. Besides..." he added narrowing his gaze, "There is only one of them I truly want dead."

"I'm right here Wolf."

"I see you McCloud."

Fox caught the glitter of Slippy's Arwing in the corner of his eye before he turned back to face Wolf, Falco now alone with Leon once again but still in his battered Arwing. The vulpine fell into a circle with Wolf, instantly regretting the tactic as he realized he couldn't pull into the curve as tight as O'Donnell due to his bad arm. Within seconds Wolf was back on his six, chuckling with anticipation and the ease of the battle.

"What was that McCloud?" he asked, firing a line of blasts along the side of his Arwing. "You don't need but one arm to defeat me?"

Fox let out a yelp of pain as he was thrown into the side of his cockpit from the blast, his arm still sensitive from the actions earlier in the week. He pulled himself back up and reached for the controls, not ever getting a paw on them before being flung to the other side of the cockpit once again as Wolf taunted him with his Wolfen.

_I was wrong. I'm no match for someone as skilled as Wolf with just one arm. _

He pulled himself back up once more, looking down and feeling a knot in his stomach as he watched Falco's Arwing take blasts from both directions, Leon and Pigma making short work of the trapped pilot.

"Get out of here Falco." he mumbled. "We cant win this one."

He didn't know if the bird would follow his order or not. He usually wouldn't comply with such a suggestion but then again they had never been in a situation like this. This time they were going to lose.

"I'm not leaving, we can still..." his objection was cut short as another series of shots ran along the top of his Arwing, the canopy slowly beginning to crack open from the force.

"No you're not leaving." Leon hissed, "Not this time birdy."

Another shot hit the top of Falco's Arwing and the canopy all but shattered into pieces, leaving the falcon only a pin drop away from the absolutely frozen vacuum of space.

"Just go!" Fox yelled, knowing his friend could very well die even if he retreated instantly.

"I guess I don't have a choice," he whispered.

The vulpine pushed forward on his controls, now only focusing on how he could stay alive rather than fight back. He cast a glance down at Falco, grateful to see his friend rolling out of of the two StarWolf fighters sight with an impressive trick before igniting the massive engine on his Arwing, easily outrunning the Wolfen's.

"You better make it back alive Fox." he said angrily, "If you don't I'll come to hell and find you just so I can kick your ass."

Fox shook his head and allowed a short grin to appear before turning his attention back to the three Wolfen's that were now focusing on him.

_Now if I can just get Krystal to fall back we can try and hold with off from GreatFox. _

"Two down, one to go." Leon hissed.

The vulpine let out a growl of frustration as he watched the three planes circle his own like a trapped animal read for the slaughter. Looking around his canopy he spotted Krystal, still being pursued by Panther but with hardly any aggression.

_Is he just toying with her as well?_

"Krystal listen. I want you to fall back to GreatFox with the rest of the team. Understand?"

"She cant hear you McCloud_. _Another little trick we learned from hosting your little Rob friend for so long." Wolf replied with a smirk.

"But lets let him listen in," Pigma said with a dark cackle.

(Switching over to Krystal's POV a few minutes earlier)

He wasn't trying to shoot her down, she could tell that much from the way he taunted her with his barrel rolls and tricks, but Panther never let her get more than a hundred yards away before closing the gap. She wasn't the most experienced pilot on the team and the cat was taking advantage of her for it.

_Why isn't he shooting at me? Everyone else has taken so much damage but I haven't been touched._

Worriedly she looked below her for the rest of her team, her communications being cut out as soon as the fight had begun. It wasn't until now that she realized that there wasn't a team left as she saw the slightest glint of light in the distance, recognizing it to be Slippy after checking the guidance computer on her monitor. Almost instantly her attention was grabbed as she saw the orange glow of an explosion to her lower right. Looking down she watched in despair as Falco's ship took shot after shot, only seconds away from completely falling apart or exploding from the amount of damage it had taken.

Lastly she noticed Fox, his fight with Wolf going almost as badly as everyone elses. She zigzagged through a cluster of asteroids before looking back down to see the vulpine hopelessly swerve back and forth in an attempt to shake the lupine.

_He cant defend himself because of his arm. This is all my fault! Everything is going wrong because of me!_

The vixen clenched her controls tightly and gritted her teeth, trying to think of some way to fix it all. Somehow she _had _to fix this! It was all her fault that Fox's arm was broken and because of that her friends could be killed at any minute because their leader was no more than target practice in his current shape. But it seemed as if her mind could only focus on what _would _happen because of her, rather than what she could do to fix it.

"Fox, please come in. Please Fox! I need you!" she yelled into her microphone desperately.

It wasn't because Panther had her in his crosshairs, it wasn't because she was on the verge of losing her mind. It was because she knew that it was only with him that she ever felt happy anymore. Anywhere else, anyone else, they just reminded her of who she _could _be with, and that was him.

She whispered his name once more, praying that he would reply to her, that he would speak the perfect words that always seemed to leave his mouth when she needed them to. And suddenly her headset crackled to life, the static causing her to jump in fear and hope.

"Fox!"

"Hello my dearest Krystal," came the cool reply.

"P-Panther?" she stammered, her heart plummeting as she realized that it wasn't the vulpine she so desperately needed.

"The one and only my beauty."

"H-How did you get into my channel?"

A light chuckle left the cat's throat as he replied, "Never you mind my dear. Lets just say I wanted to hear beautiful voice."

She looked back behind her, shuddering as she saw the black cat wink at her through his canopy.

_Hes just playing with me! What does he want to gain from all of this?_

"What do you want?" she asked, trying to hide the uneasiness that ran throughout her entire body.

"I want you to look down at your little fox friend below us," he said calmly.

The vixen took one last glance behind her just in case but something told her that Panther obviously had no intention of tricking her, not that it would be necessary to out pilot her anyways. She turned her Arwing towards the direction that Fox had been before, taking a sharp breath of fear as she watched the vulpine do whatever he could to avoid the three ships that flew around him, toying with him like a caught mouse in the paws of a cat.

Looking out in the distance she could see Falco's crippled Arwing making its way back in the direction of GreatFox, the ambush obviously doing in the ace as well as not even the most experienced pilots in the galaxy could fight an unseen enemy. So now the team was down to two but she knew that any attempt she made to help the vulpine would be futile.

"Do you want him to live?" Panther asked, almost daring her to say no.

"Of course I do! And he could defeat you all if he wasn't using just one arm!" she retorted nervously, doing her best to show no weakness in front of the black cat.

Another powerful laugh echoed through her headset, sending chills up her spine. "Well that doesn't seem to be the case! And it looks to me like Wolf is finally going to get his most pursued adversary any minute now."

Another orange burst caught her eye and she was forced to accept Panther's words to be the truth as Fox's Arwing took yet another line of blasts up the side; his ship all but crippled as its engine fired in numerous small attempts to maneuver out of the tight situation. Attempts that only caused the members of StarWolf to chuckle and line up for another round of target practice.

"Tell him to stop! Please! This isn't a fair fight and you know it!" she begged, tears no longer held back as she watched her heart's one true love slowly get shot to pieces.

_He's suffering again because of me! Oh I never should have joined his team, hes going to die because of me!_

"I _can _make them stop," Panther said with an all knowing tone, "But it wont be that simple."

"What will it take!" she yelled back, wanting to stop the beating that was going on below her as soon as possible. "I'll do anything! Just call them off!"

She heard the panther let out a purr of content before he replied, "All you have to do is come with me." he said calmly, as if it were the simplest task anyone had ever been given. "Leave StarFox and join StarWolf, become mine...and Fox will live."

Leave Fox and he will live, stay and he will die.A decision that she knew would affect every part of her life as well as his own to such a great measurement that it froze the vixen to her seat. But she knew that no matter how long she thought about it, no matter how many reasons she could come up with not to join Panther and his teammates on their ship, she would ultimately give in to his demands. That was what it would take to keep Fox alive and as long as he was still breathing then she would have a reason to live as well, even if it was in the arms of someone else.

All she knew was that she would do whatever it took to keep the vulpine below her alive, and every second that she wasted up here thinking about herself was another second that he suffered for her below. Another second that he became closer to death.

"Well?" Panther asked coolly, "I don't mean to rush you but I'd say he could use an answer sometime soon."

"Yes."

"Yes what my dear?"

"I will join you...just please...let Fox live." she murmured, tears silently running down her face at the realization of what she had done.

"Wise decision." he replied happily before turning back to the other StarWolf members. "All right guys, let the pitiful fox go." he sneered with a sense of satisfaction.

"I take it you got what you wanted?" Wolf asked, annoyed but also grateful for a reason to let Fox live once more. As noted, he wanted a fair fight when he killed him.

"Not yet." Panther replied slyly, "But I'd say I'm stepping up to the plate."

"So does this mean we cant kill him?" Leon asked with a disappointed hiss.

"I guess not," Panther sighed. "I made a deal with the beauty so we have to let him go. But don't worry," he added with a chuckle, "I'm sure he'll come to us after he has time to lick his wounds."

The vixen listened with a sick feeling in her stomach. This was all for Panther and her. Now she knew that she _truly _was the reason for all that had happened. She was the reason for all the pain and suffering that her friends had been put through for the past couple of days.

_Maybe its better this way. At least if I'm away from Fox I know he'll be safe. _

But she knew that she would never make it. After all that had happened, how much her heart depended on the vulpine, she knew that without him she would die one way or the other. But the only thing worse than her dying...was Fox dying. And she would have to break her heart in order to save his life.

"I know you heard all of this McCloud," Panther stated, causing a whole new wave of guilt and despair to fall over her. "So I hope you understand why your beautiful teammate is going to be joining me for a little getaway for a while."

The only response was a small crackle of static, causing Panther to let out a purr of laughter. "Unmute him Pigma. I want to hear his reply."

There was a quick beep and suddenly the static faded and Fox's heavy breathing came over all the headsets.

"I'm sorry Fox! I had to do this I...

"Quiet you!" Leon hissed, receiving a battered growl from Fox.

"So its okay if she stays with us for a while? I knew you'd understand." Panther said mockingly, not wasting a second.

"Panther..." Fox said, his voice dark and full of hate. "If you touch her, if you harm her, if you do anything to her... I promise I will kill you."

"I'm sure you will." the cat replied easily, disabling all of Krystal's communications before adding, "But until then me and that voluptuous fox are going to get to know each other a whole lot better."

She couldn't hear them anymore but she easily felt the surge of emotion that came from the vulpine as the words left Panther's mouth. His mind had only one thing it wanted to do at the moment and that was kill Panther, and anyone else if necessary, to ensure that the vixen was safe in his arms once more.

_But he cant and its all my fault! This is all my fault! _

There was another click and her communications were returned once more.

"Well," Wolf muttered, obviously still not content with the plan, "Can we go now? This is all a bit too touchy feely for me."

Leon and Pigma responded with a laugh and Panther allowed a small chuckle to escape before taking one last glance down at the stranded vulpine, casting him a look of pure hate and satisfaction.

_Panther was never like this. He never hated Fox with such intensity...at least not until I joined the team. _

"I guess we're done here," Panther replied, allowing his Wolfen to float over to Krystal. "So my dear...are you ready to accompany me and my team to the finest ship in all the galaxy?"

The vixen's tear filled eyes cast a glance of pure hate at the smug cat, receiving an all knowing smirk in return, reminding her that she had no choice but to follow his orders to keep Fox alive. Regretfully she nodded and followed him as he took off towards their ship, Wolf, Pigma, and Leon following closely behind. It appeared as if Panther was the leader of StarWolf...at least for this mission, and for his own reasons, ones that tore at every emotion in her heart.

She cast one last glance down at Fox's Arwing, barely catching the brown tint of his fur under the battered canopy before flying behind an asteroid field. She didn't know what Panther wanted out of her but she had her guesses. Whether it was just for some unknown personal reason to destroy Fox emotionally or because it was out of love she didn't know. She _did _know she hated Panther, and that whatever he was going to do to her he would have to do after one hell of a fight.

_I don't know what is going to happen to me but I don't care...as long as I know your alive and okay. You saved my life once and I know it wasn't because we are just teammates. I know you love me Fox. It was just bad luck that you didn't get to tell me on the bridge earlier. _

"And I love you too." she whispered.

000

Authors Note: Not a bad chapter right? Wrong? Yes, No, Maybe? I worked a lot more on grammar and typing so I felt good about this story. Of course I felt horrible about Krystal leaving Fox for StarWolf in the game, so in this story I'm giving her a legit reason to do so. Anyways, please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Okay this is a quick little chapter to lead up to the next BIG chapter. I wanted to get this out here to set it up and get everyone ready. Oh and for the life of me and everyone I have asked we cannot think of any instance in which StarWolf has/had their own version of GreatFox. So in this story it will be the Sargasso Space Station, just imagine it to be like GreatFox, home to StarWolf with a few crew extra crew members

Go!

000

"Hurry up Slippy!"

"I cant just snap my fingers and repair all the damage Falco!"

"Well do something!" the bird yelled, "Fox and Krystal are still out there and they need our help!"

"Don't you think I know that!"

"That's enough!"

Falco turned around and met the hare as he made his way across the hanger, his face full of exhaustion as if he had been in a battle of his own.

"There is no point in yelling at him. A pilot as experienced as yourself should know that any plane as damaged as yours OR Slippy's," he said, casting his arm back towards the toads Arwing's, "Couldn't be repaired for at least a few hours. And that's with a mechanics crew of at least half a dozen or so."

"Yes I know that but Fox...

"Is on his way back," the hare said calmly, putting a hand up to silence the falcon. "The computer shows his Arwing only 10 or so minutes away."

For a second the bird felt relief but after catching eyes with his old teacher he instantly knew that something else had gone wrong.

"What about Krystal?" Slippy asked, pushing himself out from underneath Falco's Arwing.

Peppy let out a sigh, reaching up and taking off his glasses at the same time as he rubbed the space between his eyes. The truth was he didn't know. After Panther and Krystal had started talking his line had been blocked, along with everyone else other than Fox who had been forced to listen as Krystal surrendered herself to StarWolf for him. All Peppy knew was what the computer told him and that wasn't much.

"Peppy...what about Krystal?" Falco asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

_If she...if something happened to her, Fox will never be the same. _

Finally the old hare replied, "I-I don't know. I lost communications with all of you halfway through the fight. All I know is she's still out there somewhere and StarWolf is with her."

Falco looked down at Slippy and nodded, the frog instantly scooting himself back under the Arwing as he continued the repairs on the bird's plane.

"When Fox gets back we can come up with some plan to go rescue her." Peppy said, trying to sound confident. "And once we do," he added, turning and watching Slippy work, "We can get everything back to normal."

Falco managed a nod before turning around and making his way over to Slippy's Arwing on the other side of the hanger to have some time alone. It was obvious that the bird didn't cope well with defeat, a result from battle that he wasn't as nearly as used to as others, and he didn't try to hide it. Being told to retreat was an order he had _never _followed before until now, and that was only because he knew he would have died had he not returned while his canopy was still in tact. Looking over Slippy's plane he noticed that the toad had taken a fair amount of damage as well but, looking closer he noticed that a lot of it seemed to be cosmetic. In fact, the only real serious damage was on the right wing.

_My ship only needs a few touches and a new canopy but Slippy could have stayed in the battle another 3 or 4 minutes yet Fox sent him back early. He knew all along we were going to lose yet he still stayed until we were all safe. _

He shook his head and knew that his thought wasn't entirely true. If Krystal wasn't with Fox right now then he couldn't possibly imagine the vulpine returning until she was, he knew his buddy wouldn't return without her.

After nearly ten minutes had passed Slippy and Peppy had somehow managed to get another canopy on his Arwing and most of the repairs done, readying at least one plane for take off only if absolutely necessary. He watched the two work from across the hanger, keeping an eye out one of the ports for any sign of Fox's Arwing in the distance.

No sooner had he spotted the faint gleam of a plane did Peppy's voice ring over the intercom.

"Hey Falco get in the control room! Fox is coming in!"

_I didn't know the old man could move that fast._

The bird turned back from the hanger doors and acknowledged Peppy's order by raising a wing before joining the two in the command room. They watched as Fox's Arwing glided into entrance to the hanger, its flawless blue and silver coat covered in black marks from the numerous hits Wolf had scored on him. Once the hanger was sealed off from space once again the three rushed down to the vulpine's Arwing, meeting him as he flung the canopy open.

The sight before them was one of pure raw emotion as the vulpine threw himself over the side of his Arwing and landed in front of them. His fur was ruffled all over and there were traces of blood up and down his right arm, his fists were clenched and his eyes were full of nothing but pure hate and determination as he looked up and met Falco's gaze, causing the bird to look away.

"Fox are you oka-

"Which one of those is flyable?" he asked, ignoring Slippy.

"Fox we need to focus...

"Which Arwing still works!" he yelled, cutting off Peppy as well.

"Mine," Falco muttered, knowing that Fox planned to go back out regardless of whether or not he had a working Arwing or a destroyed one.

The vulpine took off across the hanger to Falco's ship, not bothering to check anything other than the fuel gauge before firing up the engines. He looked down at his hands and did his best to ignore the shaking they were putting off, not out of fear but out of rage.

_I'm coming for you Panther. I know why you want Krystal so bad. Its not out of love, its out of lust. You plan on getting what you want out of her by using me as a bargaining agreement? Well think again!_

"Fox think about what you're doing!" Slippy begged through his headset. "If you couldn't beat them before what makes you think you'll do any better now?"

"Open the hanger doors Peppy."

"What do you plan to do Fox?"

"I'm going to get Krystal!" he yelled back in frustration, "And I'll kill anyone who tries to stop me, be it Panther, Wolf, Leon, Pigma, or any of you! So open the doors!"

The vulpine tried to feel remorse for what he had just said but it was instantly overwhelmed with fury as his mind continued to focus on Krystal being trapped on board the Sargasso Space Station with Panther and the rest of StarWolf.

Falco reached over the hare and hit the release switch, stepping in front of the old rabbit as he tried to close them.

"Falco what do you think you're doing?" he yelled, trying to force his way around the bird. "What Fox is doing is suicide! If you're really his friend you'll talk him out of this!"

The falcon couldn't help but chuckle, causing Peppy to step back with a questioning glare. "Peppy, there is no way _anyone, _not even General Pepper himself, could stop Fox from going after Krystal and you know that."

He had known his friend most of his life and not once had he seen a look on his face like the one he had just witnessed. Fox was not going to do anything else until Krystal was back in his arms or he was dead, either of which he would do the extreme to receive.

The three watched as Fox shot out of the hanger in Falco's Arwing, making a direct line for the Sargasso Space Station as fast as the Arwing could possibly take him.

_I don't know how I'm going to get in, I don't know who I'm going to have to fight, I don't know if I can even beat one of them with just one arm and no blaster, but I can promise you this Panther: If you have done anything to Krystal I will kill you. She is mine, no matter what anyone else says, and if you try to prove that otherwise you will have made the worst decision of your life._

His body was tattered and exhausted, his piloting ability was equal to that of a recruit, he had no weapons at his disposal that would be effective against a ship as large as Wolf's, but nothing was going to stop Fox McCloud from protecting her. Somehow he was going to find a way inside that ship, somehow he was going to find Krystal, and somehow he was going to make Panther pay for all of this. And if he was too late...if Panther had already done something that would hurt her in the least bit, Fox would fight until his dying breath to make him regret it.

000

(Author's Note: This isn't a spectacular chapter but I meant for it to be this short. This is leading up to the BIG chapter where we all hope Fox can get on board Wolf's ship (still don't know if he really has his own version on GreatFox) and fight his way to Krystal and save her from Panther.

I'll admit, I'm eager to find out how this one ends as well! Just consider this a 'informative chapter' that prepares the story for its climax okay?


	8. Chapter 8

All right. Here it is. The precipice of my story. This is the definition of being a hero and saving the princess from the bad guys. Lets just hope my mind works the same way as all the other Hollywood writers. This is a decent chapter in my opinion. Let me remind you, in this story I am making the Panther the evil mastermind. He still acts the same somewhat, but in my story he's much much darker than usual.

Big Chapter part 1

000

"Ah, home sweet home."

"Shut up Pigma."

"What? It _is _our home."

"Yeah but you make it sound so...girly."

The harsh tone coming from Leon only caused the vixen to grimace even more as she followed them down the bridge of the Sargasso ship. On both sides of her were armed gorillas and monkeys, followed closely by Wolf and Panther who walked directly behind her. She turned and caught his gaze, receiving one of his trademark smirks in return before he stepped up beside her and placed a paw on her shoulder.

"I _really _do think you're going to enjoy it here." he whispered in her ear. "We'll do so much more than StarFox and McCloud and I guarantee you'll be happier than ever."

Every instinct in her body told her to shake his hands off her and then turn and wipe that smug grin off his face, but her common sense also told her that if she planned to do something like that she should at least do it when she wasn't surrounded by guards.

_He's not even trying to hide his thoughts, even non-Cerenians could tell what he wants. All I am to him is a body that he wants his way with. _

She fought back the tears that tried to force their way through, not because she was scared, but because she felt like she was betraying the one she _really _loved.

_But I cant do anything about it! I had to come with them! I had to save Fox. _

She bit her lip and continued to walk forward, doing her best to keep herself together. On the inside she was destroyed; her heart and mind were ravaged as they continued to tell her how bad she had messed everything up, that everything that had happened was completely her fault and her fault alone. Her mind kept showing her Fox in his Arwing taking shot after shot as Panther toyed with her, not caring if the whole team was killed as long as she was his.

_It's all my fault! Everything is all because of me!_

She felt Panther's paw run down her shoulder and to her hand before intertwining with her fingers, causing her to instinctively growl a warning of protest.

"Now now Krystal," he muttered, looking straight ahead, "I suggest you be a good little vixen and do as your told. You're here now and you can either be cooperative about it or stubborn but either way," he added with a knowing tone, "You'll do as I say,"

"And if I don't?" she retorted with a sneer, trying to hide her inner emotions.

Panther let out a chuckle and squeezed her paw tightly as she tried to pull away. "Well I just figured you'd behave as long as we still have your friends in our crosshairs."

"They are all back at GreatFox, you cant do anything to them now."

_At least I hope they are._

"Is that so? Can you be sure?"

The vixen searched her mind as far as she could for a rebuttal that wouldn't expose her helplessness, something that wouldn't give away the fact that she honestly had no idea whether or not her friends were safe once more. She even tried looking into Panther's mind but the openness that it had portrayed earlier was now hidden behind a cloud of darkness...as if he knew he could call her bluff if she still thought he held the upper hand.

Which he did.

_What if he's not lying? What if they are still out there somewhere and Panther is just waiting for a reason to kill them? I cant risk it...I've already caused so much pain and suffering, I cant risk losing one of my friends because of my selfishness, regardless of what I have to do. I cant risk losing Fox._

It was then that she realized, with a sense of complete heartbreak, that she would end up doing whatever Panther asked or told her to do. No matter what. Whatever it took to keep him safe and alive...she would do it.

"No," she replied, hanging her head but no longer pulling against his paw as it held her own.

"So this means you will do as your told?" he asked, finding it hard that she had fell for his bluff so easily.

"What choice do I have?" she muttered.

Panther let a smirk cross his lips as they reached the end of the bridge and entered Sargasso's command center. His plan had gone perfectly so far. Every little detail, from filling the vixen with grief and guilt, to using that guilt to make her stay on the ship, had been precise. He _knew _that she loved Fox; a thought that drove him mad on the nights he law awake in bed thinking about her and how she was on another ship with another male other than him.

So the realization that she would never be his by free will was obvious, but also thought provoking. He was used to getting any female he wanted, when he wanted, and in any number he wanted. But there was something about Krystal, something about not being able to get this _one _fox after all this time, something about McCloud actually beating him to the finish line in what was supposed to be his race that started a fire inside of him. It was then Panther knew that one way or another he would get her. Maybe not for a lifetime, maybe not even for a day, but he knew that all he would need to be satisfied was a few good minutes.

Looking over at her he admired her bust, letting his animal lust lead his thought process as he eyed her body up and down. She was flawless. From her feet to her tail and up to her perky blue ears she was absolutely ravishing; all the more reason to have her for himself before anyone else.

"Just follow my orders and your friends will live," he whispered in her ear once more, "Anything else and we might have a mess...understand?"

The vixen bit her lip and nodded, wishing more than ever that Fox was by her side so she could fall into his arms and let her troubles fade away. But he wasn't. Instead she was forced to allow Panther's hands explore her shoulders and arms as he continued to pull her along the hallway.

"Well..." Wolf muttered dryly, "As productive as this day has been I think I'm going to retire to my quarters,"

"Yeah me too," Leon hissed, starting to take a step into his room before poking his head back out at them. "Oh and try not to make too much noise Panther."

"The walls are soundproof Leon," Wolf replied almost happily. (Remember this for later)

She felt a icy chill run down her spine as she realized that neither Panther nor Leon were joking, even though the cat had replied with a laugh. He squeezed her paw and continued down the hallway, casting one last glance behind them at Pigma and the few guards that were still with them.

"Will you be turning in as well?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

The swine shrugged and looked to his right, "I think I'll just head to the kitchen and grab a bite." then with a smirk he added, "All that target practice made me work up an appetite."

_Of course it was target practice! You ambushed us!_

She clenched her fists, forgetting that one of them was coupled with Panther's paw and getting a satisfied response from the cat as she squeezed his hand in anger. The two of them watched as the pig waddled in the other direction towards what she figured must be the kitchen or mess hall. Luckily he took the armed guards with him, leaving the hallway deserted now.

_Should I try something now? What if this is the only chance I have?_

"Remember what I said about following orders," Panther said coolly, strolling towards the nearest room on the left, pulling her with him.

_I don't know if he's bluffing or not! I cant risk endangering one of my friends...but if I don't do something soon then Panther will..._

The black cat opened the door to the room and elegantly led her inside, flipping on the lights instantly to reveal a room surprisingly a lot like her own had been on GreatFox. Then he turned on her and instantly she was backed up against the door, his muzzle practically touching hers as he rested his arms on her shoulders.

"Now...let's get you into something more comfortable," he said with a smooth tone, "You cant possible be expected to sleep in your flight suit."

"I know what you're trying to do Panther," she hissed, putting her hands over his own and pushing them away. "You cant honestly expect me to give you what you want."

"I have no idea what you mean," he replied easily, "I just assumed that before you went to sleep you would prefer to change into a different attire. Am I right or do you usually sleep in that?"

The vixen jumped as his hands rested on her waist as he finished the sentence, causing Panther to let out a chuckle of amusement and only lean in closer.

"But lets be honest," he whispered, "We both know why you're here, so why beat around the bush?"

She felt the knot in her stomach tighten as he spoke, finally confirming the motive he had been working with this entire time. He wanted her for her body. She was a female, he was a male. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as Krystal before and his mind told him that he would not be satisfied again until he had the vixen in his bed, something he would achieve in a matter of minutes.

"Panther you cant do this!" she replied tearfully, feeling completely and utterly hopeless, knowing that she didn't have a choice anymore.

"Yes I can Krystal. Because if _I _cant then no one can." he sneered, pushing her back against the door as she tried to pull away. "The first time I laid eyes on you I knew you would be mine, no matter what it took."

"Even this? Panther this isn't right, you don't love me!"

"No! YOU don't love ME!" he snarled back, "You fell for that stupid, pathetic excuse for a pilot Fox McCloud! But that's okay," he said, calming down a bit, "Because while he may have gotten your heart, I plan on getting something else."

The vixen's eyes where wide with shock as she let out a muffled moan of protest as Panther's lips crushed up against her own. She tried to fight back against the stronger cat but his strength was too much for her as he held her hands over her head with one paw and pulled her up against him with his other.

_I cant let this happen! _

The emotionally controlled cat ignored the struggle that the vixen put up against him, hardly recognizing it as his lust gave him the strength to easily hold her down. In fact he found the moans of objection that escaped her throat titillating and they only fueled his intentions. For too long he had laid awake in bed thinking about the vixen, imagining her naked body beneath him, her face full of passion and pleasure as he made her his own, only to go to sleep knowing that she was with someone else the entire time.

But now he had her. Now he didn't have to imagine the situation. Now he would get what he wanted, regardless of how she felt about it, and there wasn't anyone who could stop him. Not even Fox McCloud.

000

() – Kitchen of Sargasso Space Station (A short but necessary scene)

Grunts and snorts of satisfaction escaped the pig as he shoveled everything from chips and cookies to coke and cake down his throat. He didn't care. He had long since stopped caring what anyone thought about him; an opinion that he had formed the instant he deceived James McCloud, and one that he planned to keep.

Timidly one of the monkey's that worked in the control room of Sargasso Station crept up to the table that Pigma had covered in food, averting his gaze when the swine stopped his loud chomping long enough to speak.

"What is it?" he spat, guzzling down a coke.

"Oh, uh, yes, Mr. Dengar sir...sir! I just came here to, let you know that...I...

"Just say what you need to say! I'm very busy!" he snorted, shoveling a cookie down his throat.

The monkey looked as if he was going to pass out from nervousness, a feeling that was all too common around the crew of the Sargasso Space Station when StarWolf was on board. They knew all too well that the mercenaries wouldn't hesitate to punish or even kill them if they got in the way or were simply annoying, a fact that Leon and Wolf had proved before.

"I just need your approval to allow the docking of a small service vessel sir!" he yelled very quickly, praying that he wouldn't get squished or abused for the pig's sheer enjoyment.

"What, that's it?" Pigma asked, throwing a coke can on the floor. "Get out of here! And don't you or any other of your stupid little monkey friends annoy me again!"

The chimp snapped off the quickest salute in history before pulling an about-face and scurrying back across the bridge and into the command room as fast as possible, thanking God that he was still alive. The door closed behind him and and he couldn't help but lean back against it catch his breath as the other monkey's in the room stared at him.

"So," the closest asked. "Did you get his approval?"

The scared monkey nodded, taking a deep breath before replying, "I don't think we would've had to ask him to begin with!"

"Yeah but just think of what it would have been like if we _hadn't." _another added.

"Still," the first replied, "Next time we draw straws to see who has to go, not use rock, paper, scissors."

The monkey's all chuckled and made their way back to their seats in the room, preparing to dock the vessel that was nearing the ship any minute now.

"So," the head monkey asked, "How long till that service vessel gets here?"

"Docking in approximately 4 minutes," another replied.

4 minutes. A small window, but a window none the less.

000

(Author's Note- okay well there's that part. Now we head to Fox.)


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note- Well here is part 2 out of 3 of the big climax. This chapter was originally combined with the previous chapter but I get the feeling that its easier on the reader if the chapter isn't horridly long so I broke them in half. But it would have ended here. After this chapter here ends the true finale takes place, but if you are a big StarFox fan and you hate Pigma for what he did to James...then this is the chapter for you.

This one is actually a bit rushed in the end but its a good one I think

000

() - Outside of the Sargasso Space Station

The monitor in his Arwing relentlessly flashed him warning signs as the vulpine became closer and closer to Wolf and his ship, yet he hardly noticed them.

He was only focused on one thing at the moment and that was Krystal. She was all his mind could think about and he couldn't stop his imagination from running wild when he tried to picture what she was going doing right now. Or what she was being forced to do. He recalled the cocky tone coating Panther's voice as he left Krystal with no choice but to leave with him. He knew what the cat wanted out of the her. He sensed the lust and the darkness in his tone and the vulpine could almost read his mind as he imagined trapping Krystal on their ship and raping her for his pleasure.

The thought drove him mad with hate and fury.

_He'll waste no time getting what he wants. He knows I'm coming for him, and if he doesn't he will soon enough._

He looked ahead and surveyed the wide area of space, Wolf's ship was just noticeable in the distance and the vulpine knew he would easily be spotted if he got any closer. But he also knew that he didn't care. He would gladly blow up the entire place once he got Krystal back in his arms.

_I just have to figure out a way to get inside. And then they'll regret ever thinking about taking her. _

He took a deep breath and tried to force down the rage and anger that had been controlling him. Now was the time to plan and think with his mind, not his heart, and the vulpine knew that unless he found out a way to get on the ship in one piece that he wouldn't be any help to anyone.

He had came up on the ship from its left and could only see the edge of the entrance to the hanger. Somehow he would have to get in there. He knew that flying straight into them would be pointless, resulting in death either from the possible explosion or even more likely suffocation from the cold vacuum of space afterward. Another thought was simply asking for permission to be docked. Maybe he could trick whoever was in the command post to dock his ship if he came up with a good enough lie.

_But they'll know its an Arwing, and after what happened today it will be all too obvious. _

"Damnit! Every second I waste in here is another second Panther has Krystal..." The vulpine clenched his fists and bowed his head in anger.

His idea of forcing his way into the hanger was beginning to look like the only option now. There was simply no way that he could get on board the ship without being detected.

*beep*

Fox jerked his head up as the alert sounded on the screen. He could see the large marker that represented the Sargasso Space Station on the right side of the radar, but on the other side he could see the slightest speck representing another, smaller, vessel making its way across space.

Raising his gaze up above the canopy he looked out in the general direction of the small plane, instantly seeing the service vessel that was on its way to dock with Wolf's ship. It was heading towards the stern of the ship and Fox realized that it would more than likely be docked within the minute.

_I don't care if this is fate or just luck, but this is my chance. This is my one shot to get on board. _

In the back of his mind the vulpine knew that if he _did _manage to get on board the ship, and if he _did _manage to get a weapon, then StarWolf would be no more if Krystal had been harmed.

He ignited the rear thrusters on the Arwing and easily flanked wide of the ship, making his way around a cluster of rocks before emerging directly behind the vessel. He cut the engines and allowed the Arwing to silently float across space as both objects neared the hanger.

_With any luck they will be expecting this other vessel and wont even bother to check for anyone else. If that's the case maybe I can get on board before anyone even notices. _

His Arwing continued to close the gap between it and the service vessel as they both got closer and closer to Sargasso Station. Eventually they were so close that Fox was sure he had been spotted since the doors continued to remain shut. But finally he was allowed to breath a sigh of relief as they slowly slid apart and both ships were allowed to float inside.

_Okay lets do this as quietly as possible. If my luck holds I might be able to get out of the hanger before they realize there is even an Arwing in it. _

He couldn't help but chuckle as he imagined being able to pull something like that off. Surely whoever Wolf had working on his ship wasn't that blind. The inside came into view and he was shocked at how much it resembled his own. The hanger was practically the same size and it seemed to have an extremely similar layout.

_Hopefully that will make it easier to find her. _

The doors began to close behind him and he wasted no time in landing his Arwing and throwing the canopy open once room was sealed once more.

_Okay Panther, I'm inside now, and I'd be very afraid if I were you. _

He jumped to the ground and looked around, easily spotting the command room at the head of the structure. He narrowed his gaze and thought he could see the brown fuzzy head of some creature but wasn't sure, and he didn't bother wasting his time confirming his suspicions. Instead he changed his focus to the vessel that he had followed in, instantly noticing the blaster that the gorilla carried in his hands as he stepped off the ship.

He stood to the side and supervised as three more crew members, a rabbit, a lynx, and a lizard, made their way off the vessel, unarmed, and up towards the command post. Not wasting a second Fox took off across the floor, quickly covering the small distance between him and the gorilla.

At the last second the ape heard him and had just began to turn around before he was knocked to the floor by the vulpine. Snatching his hand forward he caught the blaster out of the air and put it against the orangutang's forehead, honestly ready to pull the trigger if he thought he would get in the way of saving Krystal. But even through all of this Fox knew he wasn't like that. This animal knew nothing of what had happened and was in no way responsible, and he couldn't kill him for nothing.

Instead he pulled the barrel away from his shocked face, giving him only a second to comprehend what was going on before knocking him out with the butt of his gun.

_Its better than killing you. _

He shot a glance over at the other crew mates who were now exiting the hanger through the door below the control room. Obviously they hadn't heard the ape hit the floor, either that or they hadn't expected him to leave the ship. Regardless the vulpine took off after them, pausing at the door for a few seconds before easing it open and poking his head around the corner.

_I don't know how long I have before they realize I'm here. But the knocked out gorilla in the middle of the hanger should be a pretty big indication, especially if they haven't noticed the Arwing behind that service vessel. _

Nothing seemed to be roaming the halls and he decided to head in the opposite direction than that of the crew that had just got on. He crouched down and used every stealth trick he had ever learned as he made his way down the hallway. His common sense told him that if he could find the bridge he would find the crew's quarters, and if he found the crew's quarters he would at least get some answers as to where to find Krystal.

The realization that Panther could be hurting her or forcing the vixen to do whatever he commanded reissued the rage and hate that he had managed to push aside while getting aboard. But now he could use those emotions to his advantage. He knew that he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone now that he was close to her. Whatever it took to get her in his arms again was easily enough of a reason for him to do the impossible.

With his seemingly unstoppable determination he ran up the stairway, allowing a smirk to cross his face as he realized he had entered the kitchen, or something similar to one, of the ship. But it wasn't the location of the ship that told him he was one step closer to finding Krystal, it was the fat, selfish, greedy pig that had his back to him as he stuffed his face with food and watched a nearby television. Fox calmly made his way across the room until he was directly behind the swine.

"You should chew your food Dengar." he muttered, causing him to instantly stiffen in shock.

Instantly he placed the barrel of the gun against the back of Pigma's neck, inaudibly telling him not to move another muscle unless he wanted to experience the feeling of his brains being blasted out of his skull.

"McCloud," he murmured, an obvious tone of fear in his voice, "H-How did you get on board?"

"Never you mind," he replied, pressing the blaster against his head a bit harder, "What you should be worried about is how long you can keep yourself alive."

The vulpine allowed a smirk of satisfaction to cross his face as he watched the shudder of fear run through the pig. This was a position that Fox had dreamed of being in ever since the story of Pigma's betrayal to his father had been reached his ears. That he was an accomplice to Krystal being taken from him was enough of a reason to pull the trigger already, but the fact that the greedy animal in front of him was responsible for the death of his father as well brought the vulpine to the brink of assassination right then and there.

_Wait...I cant kill him. Not yet. Every second I waste is another second Krystal could be forced to do whatever Panther wants._

"Listen McCloud, before you do anything rational I think you should know that this entire plan was Panther's doing. I had nothing to do with it." he blurted out, obviously trying to pass the blame, "In fact," he added with a nervous chuckle, "I said it was a bad idea."

"Oh really?" the vulpine asked with a sneer.

"Y-yes! It didn't seem right to ambush your team like that. And it definitely wasn't right forcing Krystal to come here with us." he continued, "Its just Panther has became obsessed with her lately and he kept talking about how he was going to get her no matter what. I thought he was acting crazy the whole time and...

"It didn't seem right to ambush my team?" he asked quietly, acknowledging everything that Pigma had said but hanging on the first part with anger, "You mean like it didn't seem right to deceive my father? To gain his trust then stab him in the back? You are the reason he's dead and you're talking to me about what seems right?"

The end of the blaster was pressed even farther into the back of Pigma's skull and the pig began to wheeze in fear as he realized his mistake.

"I couldn't help it!" he pleaded, "Andross got to me! He promised me so much more and I got in too deep. I had to do it!" (This is the way I interpreted Pigma's actions in the game's storyline. Sue me if you disagree lol)

"You had to do nothing." Fox said through gritted teeth. "Except what benefited yourself."

Pigma didn't dare say anything else, simply hoping that someone would walk in and see what was going on or that Fox would somehow spare his life. But even _he _knew that he deserved to die, a realization that was all too painful and depressing.

"Here's whats going to happen," the vulpine whispered, leaning down. "You are going to take me to wherever Krystal is." he grabbed the scruff of Pigma's shirt and pulling him up before continuing. "And then, maybe, I wont splatter your brains all over the wall...maybe."

He felt the pig let out a massive sigh of relief, finally swallowing the last bit of food that he had crammed into his mouth.

_He wont get out of this unscathed. I'll make sure of that._

"I'll do whatever you want me to," he replied shakily, "Just, please, don't...

"Get moving," Fox interrupted, not wanting to hear the swine's pleads.

He kept the blaster pressed against Pigma's spine as he followed him step for step through the hallways of the ship. He wasn't sure where Krystal was but he knew he was getting close.

"If you take me anywhere else Pigma," he muttered as they climbed a set of stairs, "I promise I wont hesitate to pull the trigger and watch your lifeless body hit the floor."

He nodded in response, revealing two tear filled eyes full of pure fear and reverence, "Panther's room is down this hallway." he said nervously.

The rounded a corner and entered a longer hallway somewhat similar to the one on GreatFox, with three doors on each side about ten feet apart. This was where the crew's rooms were. This was where Panther was.

"Which one?" Fox asked, practically seeing Panther through the walls.

"His is the last room on the left." Pigma said quietly.

"And which one is yours?"

"W-why do you...

Fox pressed the blaster back against Pigma's neck, causing the swine to rethink his response.

"M-my room is here. F-first door on the r-right." he stammered.

_Time is short but I have to make sure Pigma is out of the way before I confront Panther. Plus...hes had this coming ever since he betrayed my father._

"Open the door," Fox ordered, pressing the weapon against Pigma's neck and forcing him to step forward to the door.

"W-what are you...

"Step inside Dengar."

"Fox please...think about what you're doing!" he begged as he waddled past the entrance, Fox closing the door behind him.

"I've thought about this every day since I lost my father." he muttered darkly.

The shortest of screams escaped Pigma as he felt the blow hit him in the back of the head, his body falling to the ground. Fox looked at the butt of the blaster and wiped the blood off on Pigma's shirt before placing it against his spine.

"As badly as I want to kill you, my father wouldn't have wanted it this way." he whispered. "But if I have to live with the pain for the rest of my life then so will you."

He pulled the trigger, a sense of satisfaction leaving him as he heard the snap of the pig's spinal cord after the blast.

_Enjoy sitting in a chair the rest of your life Pigma, its what you're used to anyways. I just hope you weren't too attached to the use of your legs. _

The vulpine wiped the blood off the tip of the blaster and turned back towards the door. Krystal could be anywhere on the ship but in his mind he knew that she was in one of these rooms. He just prayed that it wasn't Panther's. But if it was, they were both going to get a surprise awfully soon.

(Author's note: Sorry but this BIG chapter I told you about is so damn long I had to break it into pieces. I haven't gotten the last part done yet. But I think my coldblooded perception of Fox is cool in this situation. Plus Pigma totally had it coming for doing what he did. Anyways, the climax is almost here!)


	10. Chapter 10

Tears continued to run down the vixen's face as the realization of what was happening stabbed her in the heart with every beat. But she didn't fight back. She didn't try to scream for help or run away. How could she? It wasn't because her hands were tied above her head, or because she was nowhere near as strong as Panther. No, it was because for all she knew Panther had been telling the truth when he had said he could kill Fox at any second if she didn't follow his every command.

It was a risk she couldn't take. She would do _whatever _it took to ensure that Fox was kept alive, whether he was already back on GreatFox or stranded in space.

So she did the only thing she could think of doing in the current situation. She tried to imagine Fox in place of Panther. She imagined it was Fox who had ripped off her clothing and pushed her down on the bed. She imagined it was Fox who pulled his shirt off and stood over her with a look of pure lust and possession. She imagined that right now it was Fox and not Panther who was letting out a growl of satisfaction as he fondled her breasts and ran his tongue up her stomach and into her mouth.

But her imagination only went so far and she was left gasping in fear and guilty pleasure as Panther worked his paw between her legs and up into her channel, giving the vixen no choice but to slowly spread her legs in shame.

"Good girl," he murmured, licking the side of her muzzle, "I knew you'd come around."

_This is wrong! It was supposed to be Fox not Panther! I wanted Fox to be my first!_

For the next minute Panther decided to take it easy on her, playing with her sensitive areas and exploring her perfect body to his fullest extent. He could tell that despite her best efforts mentally her body was changing physically. Her knees were spread open, allowing the cat to view her innocence as much as he desired before he placed his paw above her entrance, running two of his fingers inside and getting a satisfactory moan of pleasure from her.

He let a smirk cross his face, knowing that he would finally get what he had been dreaming about all this time. McCloud might get her heart but he would get her body, her virginity. Something that she could never get back no matter how many planes Fox could shoot down. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Panther leaned forward and gave the vixen one last peck on the cheek before standing alongside the bed. Krystal let out a sigh of relief as the cat's fingers left her burning channel, instantly feeling guilt overtake her as she realized she had been enjoying it. She saw Panther raise his knee and turned to watch in despair as he pulled off the rest of his clothes.

_He's not going to stop. He'll rape me just because he doesn't want Fox to be my first. But what choice do I have? I cant do anything!_

"Panther pleas...

Before she could finish her plea the cat was on top of her, pushing her against the bed and falling over her.

"You and I both want this," he whispered, allowing a lustful smirk to cross his face before leaning down and taking one of her breasts in his mouth.

"Ah...no! I d-don't!" she gasped in both pleasure and pain.

"Then why are you so wet?" he asked, looking up at her and squeezing her other breast. "Your body is just begging to be fucked and that's what I'm gonna do."

"No! I-I'm not...I'm not begging for...

She let out another gasp of pleasure as she felt his paw shove its way up her virgin channel, only to instantly exit and appear in front of her face.

"You see?" he said, licking his paw. "You're just as ready as I am. In fact," he added, stepping back and propping her knees open, "It would be a crime to just leave you all unsatisfied like this."

Her eyes grew wide as she looked below her and watched Panther's hands rest on her waist as he prepared to slide himself inside of her. It was going to happen. Her heart may have belonged to Fox but her body now belonged to Panther.

(Switch to Fox)

He took one last glance at the unconscious and bleeding body of Pigma and couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment. Dengar was a good pilot and could have been a huge asset to any team, now the only help he would be to anyone was sitting in front of a computer or television and Fox couldn't help but predict the latter.

The blaster was at his side and he made his way out the door and into the hallway, finally ready to get his vixen back and to make Panther pay for what he'd done.

_His room was the last one on the left and he'd better pray to God he isn't in there._

He could scent the faint aroma of the vixen in the hallway and he knew she had been here. He made his way past the second and third doors, stopping only for a second to place his hear against each one to make sure no one was moving about on the other side. Finally he reached the last door. The door Pigma said was to Panther's room. The door that would hopefully lead him to Krystal.

_If I can just get her in my arms once more I swear I'll never let go._

Taking a deep breath he pulled down on the handle and flung the door open, instantly putting the blaster on the first thing that moved.

Unfortunately it wasn't Panther.

"McCloud! What the...

The vulpine rushed Wolf instantly, throwing the canine back against the nearby wall as he pushed the blaster against his temple.

_That no good lying bastard Pigma! Even with a gun to him he lied to me. I should have just killed him!_

"Wrong room," Fox muttered darkly, not wavering in the least.

The shock slowly ebbed away from O'Donnell's face as his mind easily pieced together everything that had probably happened. He had known that something like this would go down. In fact he had counted on it and had been looking forward to another head to head Arwing fight with the vulpine once again, this time without an ambush to give him the advantage. However Fox had put his own plan into action much sooner than Wolf, or anyone for that matter, had expected.

But he also knew that this wasn't his fight...now. As much as he hated to admit it he knew that Fox's quarrel was with Panther this time. He had gotten between the vulpine and his mate and now Fox had done something that even the most talented of soldiers couldn't do.

"So..." Wolf said calmly, knowing that he could talk his way out of this one easily. "I take it you came for her?"

"Where is she?" he snarled, annoyed with the easiness that Wolf was able to speak with considering his position.

"Across the hall. With Panther."

The tension between the two was astounding yet at the same time it ensured each of them that the other was ready to compromise...for now. Wolf let out a sigh and placed his hands in his pockets, figuring if he said the right words and allowed Fox to do whatever he wanted then it would be better for everyone.

The thought of attacking Fox never even flashed into his mind. The second he seen the vulpine's eyes he knew he would be no match, even with his broken arm. McCloud was on a mission, and he had all the motivation in the universe to kill anyone who got in the way. All just for her.

Fox met his gaze and sighed before he eased off on the blaster "As much as I'd like to pull the trigger...

"Your fight isn't with me...at least not tonight." Wolf finished, returning the gaze with what could have been called a look of compromise

For a second the two fought the others gaze before Fox finally dropped his arm to his side, half expecting Wolf to instantly knock him off his feet and shove the blaster down his throat. But instead the lupine simply let out a short chuckle before grabbing the remote on the nightstand beside him and falling down on the bed.

"Why are you not trying to stop me?" the vulpine asked through narrowed eyes.

"Truthfully?" Wolf asked, raising an eyebrow and casting a glance back towards Fox. "I don't want her here. She'll just get in the way and distract Panther from what we're supposed to be doing."

"And that is?"

"Whatever needs to be done."

Wolf didn't bother looking back a second time, he knew he was in the clear. He couldn't quite understand why he was being so calm and relaxed considering his greatest rival had managed to sneak aboard his own ship and place a blaster against his temple only seconds ago. Maybe it was because he knew he wasn't the reason for it. Or maybe it was because O'Donnell knew how Fox felt. Perhaps he knew what it felt like to lose someone you love more than life itself. (Foreshadowing!)

"Well?" he asked, back to his unfriendly tone, "You gonna get her and get out of here before I change my mind or just wait until he rapes her?"

Fox wasn't quite sure how to respond but after hearing the word 'rape' he knew he couldn't waste any more time just standing there. He took one last glance at Wolf who merely narrowed his gaze at the tv, as if he was doing everything in his control to keep from changing his mind and assaulting the vulpine that had snuck aboard his ship.

"By the way," he added as Fox reached the door. "I'd prefer it if you allowed Panther to live _and _you leave my ship in tact."

Without responding Fox pulled the door shut behind him and stepped across the hallway in front of Panther's room. He couldn't hear anything, but of course he didn't know the walls were soundproof. But he was through wasting time, no more interruptions. He had gotten this far, he had disposed of Pigma and taken care of Wolf, a surprisingly easy task, and now he was only feet away from holding his vixen once more.

He placed his shoulder against the door and brought the blaster up to his face, preparing to put a shot right between Panther's eyes if he was even near Krystal. He pulled on the handle and flung the door open, stepping around with it and instantly seeing the back of the cat as he did.

"Fox!"

"K-Krystal..."

(Author's Note: Okay well one more piece to go and that'll get the climax over and done with. Also...what would you guys think of a yiff scene? I can work one in here but I don't know if it would kill the mood.)


	11. Chapter 11

(Author's Note: Tired of my cliffhangers? Tired of not knowing whether Krystal is raped by Panther or not? Well here ya go ya animals. My final chapter of the climax. Sorry it took a while to upload but I've been busy and I had to reread this one a few times to make sure I got it decent)

Final chapter of climax-

000

_This is wrong! This is wrong! What was I thinking?_

The sapphire vixen struggled for air as she continued to try and take in the scene before her. She had done the only thing she could think of to prolong Panther's main objective, but now, as she struggled to keep from gagging, she wondered if it had been worth it.

In fact, she feared that what she had done was only going to allow Panther to degrade her even further. But as he had readied himself to steal her virginity it seemed like the _only_ way she could draw out the inevitable. So she leaned up from her position and got on all fours, her face only inches from his member before she reluctantly took it in her mouth. The look of shock that faded into contentment on Panther's face had sickened her.

But in her mind this was the only way she could keep him from getting what he wanted. At least for a little longer.

Now she wished she had rethought the idea as Panther was back on top of her, forcing her to swallow as much of himself as he could fit in her throat. Through a tear-filled gaze she managed to catch the cat's eyes, her mind instantly realizing that he was nowhere near through with her as she seen the expression in them. He was almost insane with lust and passion. FINALLY he had what had eluded him for so long and he didn't plan on letting her go until he did everything that he could think of to her.

If Fox was going to get her back, then he would get her back well used.

The vixen couldn't do anything other than take the force feeding from then on. Her hands where still tied above her head as Panther sat on her chest, occasionally pulling his member out of her gorged mouth only to run it between her breasts. He clearly had no intention of stopping until either one or both of them passed out from exhaustion.

_I still have my virginity, but what's the point? He wont stop and I cant do anything about it. I'm sorry Fox...I'm sorry that all this has..._

She was jerked out of her thoughts as Panther pinched one of her tender nipples, causing her to moan in a mixture or pain and pleasure. He then used that opportunity to slam his tool back into her mouth, causing her to gag in surprise and getting a laugh of satisfaction him.

"You know," he said, grabbing a pawful of her hair and working her head back and forth, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, stalling me and all but," he added, leaning forward and forcing the entire length of himself to the back of her throat, choking her. "I can promise you that you wont leave this ship until every hole in your body has pleased me, time and time again."

Her mind began to fade into black as she struggled to make up for the lack of oxygen through her nose. Panther looked down at the struggling vixen beneath him and allowed a grin of dominance cross his lips. He was in control now. He could care less about Andross or Wolf or even McCloud at the moment. As long as he had this sapphire vixen here to please his every desire then his world was perfect, and he intended to keep it that way as long as possible.

Just when she was sure she would pass out he released his grip on her neck, leaving her gasping for breath as he chuckled in pleasure.

"I cant let you pass out now can I?" he said affectionately, "You need to be awake for whats going to happen next."

A sense of dread flooded over her as she guessed what he meant. She felt the weight of his body leave her chest and looked down to see him once again positioning himself between her legs. She pulled on the rope that he had re-bound her paws together with, knowing that there was no way she could sidetrack Panther this time unless she did it by force.

But the cat only smirked and rested a strong paw on her chest, forcing her to stay down as he placed his member at the entrance of her channel and prepared to take what he believed to be rightfully his.

"You're _never _going to forget this," he promised.

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the tears that ran down her face, doing her best to close out her mind and pretend this wasn't happening. It was for that one moment, that instant split second in her mind that she managed to think about him that she felt it.

_Fox? I sensed him. He's nearby! He's..._

Almost as soon as the thought registered in her mind the door to the room burst open before her and Panther instantly turned towards it, allowing Krystal to look past him at her savior.

"Fox!"

(Switch POV)

"Krystal...you're..." his gaze ran over her bare body and he could tell he hadn't made it in time. She had been put through such a chain of disgracing events that she didn't look nowhere near the vixen she had been before. The vulpine only seen a half raped fox that he had only gotten to at the last possible second.

The blaster that had been at his side hit the floor and he turned towards Panther, who had yet to do anything other than stutter out the vulpine's name and take a few steps back. He clenched his fist and slowly brought his gaze up to meet Panther's, instantly causing the cat to take yet another couple of steps backwards until he was up against the wall.

"McCloud what...

A third word never even _began_ to exit Panther's mouth before Fox appeared in front of him and pinned him against the wall with his right arm, ignoring the pain that came from his still broken bones.

"I...warned...you." he growled darkly, his voice completely filled with hate.

Panther only managed to utter a syllable before the vulpine's left hand connected with his muzzle. The force of the blow would have knocked Panther off his feet had the vulpine not been holding him. The sound of his nose breaking, the feeling of his teeth being knocked out as his knuckles connected with his chin was the most satisfying sound he had ever heard and he couldn't refrain from reaching back and landing blow after powerful blow against the cat's face.

He lost count of how many times he connected his fist with Panther's face but whatever it was he knew it wasn't nearly enough. Every instinct in his body told him to continue punching either until there was nothing left to punch or his arm gave out, either of which he would be satisfied with. Panther tried to fight back but the punches connecting on his face soon blurred his thought and vision and it wasn't but a few seconds into the barrage until he was praying for the black state of unconsciousness to end the pain.

"Look at her!" he shouted in rage, "She never did _anything _to you!" Panther cast a semi-conscious glance over at the vixen, realizing that he never got to do what he had planned.

The vulpine reached back and slammed his fist into the cat's stomach, causing Panther to let out a moan of pain as he still managed to cling to a cognitive state of life.

_I don't know what you did to her Panther but I know you'll regret it!_

He brought his hand back yet again, ignoring the blood that splattered onto his face from his own knuckles, only concerned with causing Panther as much pain as he could. But then he stopped.

He froze as he felt another hand fold over his own, causing him to step back and release Panther, his body instantly falling to the floor with a sickening thud.

"Kry...

The sapphire vixen instantly threw herself into the vulpine's chest, wrapping her paws around his neck and holding on with everything she had. He let out a shaky breath and returned the embrace, resting his muzzle on the side of her neck and relishing her sweet scent once again.

"You came for me...after everything that's happened, you still went through all of that to save me."

_I'm not waiting anymore. I've postponed this long enough!_

He gently placed his paw under her muzzle, raising her face until they were only inches apart.

"You're worth it," he whispered, closing the gap between their mouths and connecting his lips with hers.

If there was any surprise in her eyes it quickly faded into pleasure as she put both her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. From that moment on nothing else mattered. Both of them knew that they would never be torn apart again, not so long as the other had a breath in their body. And although Fox knew it would still be a challenge simply getting off the ship unscathed, with Krystal in his arms once more he knew he'd have all the motivation he needed to fight his way back to GreatFox where the two would be together forever.

After what felt like hours the two eased out of the kiss.

"I love you." he whispered, "I just wish I had told you sooner."

He reached forward and brushed one of her bangs away from her eye, revealing the tears that had settled behind it. At first he was afraid he had done something to upset her or that maybe she was hurt, but then he realized that those tears were from happiness. The vixen shook her head and pulled on his neck, once again connecting the two in an emotional kiss beyond imagination.

"I love you too," she replied softly, "And if we can make it through all of this and get back home I never want to leave your side again. I just want us to be together forever, that's all."

He couldn't help but let a grin cross his face as he pulled her body up against his once more, issuing one more passionate kiss that neither one wanted to end.

"I can make it happen." he murmured into her ear, holding her against his chest.

Finally the two pulled apart, leaving the vulpine starstruck at the beauty of the naked vixen before him.

_I know its under horrible circumstances but I'm positive I'm getting to see the most beautiful sight in the galaxy._

"You remember I'm a telepath right?" she asked, watching the vulpine's eyes work their way up her body.

Instantly Fox blushed a dark shade of crimson and pulled an about-face to stop himself.

_Way to kill the fucking mood dumbass._

"Krystal I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have." he replied guiltily, smacking himself on the head with his cast.

Suddenly he felt her presence behind him as she pressed her body up against his backside, her own curves running along him.

"You really think that way about me?" she whispered, wrapping her hands around his waist. "You think I'm beautiful?"

He dropped his hands down to his stomach and ran his fingers between hers, "I _know _you're beautiful," he murmured, "There isn't anything in the entire universe that comes close to how amazing you are."

The vixen rested her head on the vulpine's shoulder, still standing behind him with her arms around his waist. "You deserve so much more than me," she whispered, "After all the trouble I've put you and the team through, I cant believe you still care for me as much as you do."

Fox turned on her and took her paw in his, "Never talk like that." he said sternly yet affectionately, "For starters, it is _you _who deserves someone better. I'm just a rogue mercenary who lives off whatever comes his way. You deserve to live in a mansion and to be treated like a goddess for the rest of your life."

"Fox I...

"Plus," he continued, cutting her off by placing his paw over her mouth, "You have never put me through anything that could change the way I feel about you. So you better believe me when I say I'll die for you if that's what it takes to protect you. You're my world Krystal, I cant live without you."

"And I cant live without you," she murmured back, pressing her muzzle against his.

"Then I guess we'll just have to live forever."

He gave her a quick kiss before pulling her towards the bed and grabbing her clothes. And although he knew he shouldn't, the vulpine couldn't help but watch from behind as the vixen slid her tight black and blue flight suit over her body. She turned and faced him once dressed and he immediately looked away, trying not to blush and give away his actions.

The vixen allowed a blush of her own to come across her face before she took his hand and, after getting a reassuring nod from him, followed him out the door and into the hall, leaving an unconscious Panther lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

_I've made it this far, I've done what everyone thought was impossible. Now all that's left is getting home, and I'll be damned if I'm going to get stopped now._

_0000_

(Author's Note: I've decided to stop it here! Not the story just the chapter. I think that if I went through the, what I imagined to be, uneventful return to GreatFox that it would kinda kill the feeling of this chapter. I'll probably start the next chapter off in Falco's POV as they return to the ship but I'm not sure.

Anyways, I hope you like how it turned out. I KNOW you didn't want Krystal to do what she did but at least I answered your prayers about not losing her virginity to Panther so cut me some slack.)


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: You know what? I feel like I can make this story into an explosive saga. Don't understand? Read this little insert that I couldn't refrain from sticking out there:

1st Warning: You might love where this is going:

2nd Warning: You may hate where this is going.

000

The cat shakily pulled himself into a standing position, using his dresser to do most of the work. He had no idea what had happened, at least after the first punch had connected, and he could only imagine how long he had been lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.

He looked up into the mirror, having to squint in order to see through his black eyes, only to find someone completely different staring back at him. His nose was broken, dried blood running down his muzzle and neck as a result. Both his cheeks were swollen from the beating that the vulpine had dished out, along with his eyes, and he couldn't help but whimper as he reluctantly opened his mouth to find that three of his strong feline teeth had been chipped.

The pilot that stood before him was no longer the smooth, quick talking, good looking Panther Caruso. No. The only one in the room now was a defeated cat who only had one thing on his mind.

_This didn't happen! I had her right in front of me! She was all mine! Everything was going perfectly!_

Despite the pain that radiated from his entire body he couldn't help but slam his fist into the dresser. What he felt then was nothing compared to the anger and rage that seethed from every inch of his body. He hadn't cared whether or not Fox had lived before, all he had wanted was Krystal as his trophy. But now, now he could relate to the emotions that Wolf seemed to put off when he was confronting Fox. He knew what it felt like to want someone dead for no reason other than his pleasure.

The cat's breathing finally steadied as he continued to stand above the dresser, staring into the golden eyes across from him. They were full of malice and darkness, feelings that he had never felt before yet embraced with an eagerness, knowing they would give him the opportunity strike back, to take his revenge on Fox and Krystal.

StarWolf didn't matter anymore. Sargasso didn't matter either. Nor Corneria or any other place or being in the Lylat System, no, the entire galaxy. The rage that continued to build up inside of the dark furred pilot was unequaled by any he had ever felt before. He had been beaten. And to add salt to his wounds, he had been check-mated right as he prepared for his shining moment. Right when he was finally going to get what he had been lusting for since he had first seen the vixen.

The realization of this only caused him to harden his heart even further as he clenched his fists and tried to hold back the shaking that his hands continued to put off. Then...he stopped. He looked down at his paws, opening them and watching the blood run down his palms with a sense of satisfaction. He looked back into the mirror, this time seeing, not the defeated, beaten up cat from earlier, but the powerful animal he was. A Panther. Plotting, thinking, preparing his next move. Sure he had lost the battle, but this was a war that was far from over.

He would sit back and lick his wounds, allowing the hate and rage to settle in his heart until it filled him to the brink of insanity. He would put Andross to shame and, after he was through with Fox McCloud, or better yet StarFox, there wouldn't be a citizen in the entire Lylat System who didn't know of his power. It wasn't a dream, or an idea that was in his mind that would simply pass after a nights sleep. This would stay with him until either he or McCloud was dead.

_I've got the money. I've got the resources. I'll use everything that Sargasso has to offer, then I'll go even further! I'll have an army big enough to contest Corneria after I'm through! You think you've won Fox? You think that just because you got lucky, that somehow you were able to get her back that everything will be perfect for you?_

"Well enjoy thinking that," he muttered darkly, "Because I am far from beaten."

_Before this is over one of us WILL be dead. And if it's you McCloud...if you aren't around to save her again...I'm going to do so much more to Krystal than just rape her._

He imagined how his victory would play out; McCloud lying on the ground, slowly bleeding to death as he was forced to watch Panther have his way with his mate, knowing that she would be his slave for the rest of her life. It caused the most sadistic of smirks to slide across the cat's face and he couldn't help but allow a chuckle of pleasure to rumble from his throat, slowly growing in strength until it was a menacing cackle that rang throughout his room.

"You better enjoy your time with her McCloud!" he yelled crazily, "Because I can guarantee it will be short!"

000

End Chapter

Author's Note: Before you say anything, this chapter is supposed to be short! That little scene you just read is the biggest twist I've ever put into a piece of writing. I myself was convinced that it was time to close this story off but then I realized...Panther cant just roll over. Not after how hard he worked, after how obsessed he was with Krystal. This story is a good ways from over, and I hope it goes from being a 'good' story to being a 'great' one.

If not that then lets hope it doesn't get any worse right? But I think you'll like what I have in mind for team StarFox in the upcoming chapters.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: Well, I know I can make this story into something great if I don't screw up and stay committed. The plot has thickened to such an extent that I'm praying it isn't too much for me to handle. I'm not the biggest expert on the different types of ships/planes/enemies that are in the game but I'll just have to do a little research. But that's for a later time. For now lets take off from where we left Falco and the crew.

000

Falco jerked out of his troubled sleep as the battle from earlier slipped into his dreams, causing him to relive the worst loss of his career once more. He rubbed his eyes and uncrossed his legs, looking down in the hanger below to see Peppy and Slippy still hard at work on repairing the other Arwings. For all they knew Fox _and _Krystal could be dead. None of them had any idea what Panther had wanted Krystal for, though the blue falcon had his ideas and could only assume Fox had been thinking of the same thing when he had blasted off towards Sargasso.

_So Krystal is probably alive, maybe not in the best of places or situation, but alive. That counts for something right?_

He shook his head, knowing it wasn't enough to reassure his worries. Regretfully he imagined what could've happened, seeing a rage driven vulpine in a beaten up Arwing making a suicide run at a ship that not even a whole team of fighters could take down without losing a few good pilots. Much less one with a broken arm.

_Nothing is written in stone, Fox is an incredible pilot. If anyone in the universe could sneak an Arwing aboard a space station it would be him. Especially since he was doing it for Krystal. _

The falcon stood up and stretched his legs and wings, grimacing at the pain that spiked in his shoulder from the battle but doing his best to ignore it. If McCloud could pilot an Arwing with a broken arm then he should at least be able to stand a little bruise. He turned and headed towards the door of the command post, eager to lend a hand if he could. But just as he reached the exit he heard the familiar perimeter warning go off, instantly stopping him in his tracks.

He jogged back over to the computer and pulled up the radar, thankfully seeing the blue flashing light that indicated an Arwing only a few miles from their ship.

"That's gotta be McCloud,"

Without hesitating he flipped on the PA system and shouted out to the two pilots below him. "Yo Slipp, Peppy, clear the area we got an Arwing coming in for a landing!"

Falco couldn't help but grin as he watched Peppy slide himself out from under an Arwing, a big smile on his face as he pulled Peppy behind him and up the stairs to the control room.

"Is it Fox? Is Krystal with him?" he asked, bursting through the door with an out of breath Peppy behind him.

"I don't know," he replied, reaching forward and opening the hanger doors, "It could be both, or," he added, casting a serious look over at the two, "It could be neither."

The two returned the nod, knowing that Panther had managed to sneak one problem on board and wouldn't hesitate to do it once more.

The three waited for a few more seconds until the Arwing finally came into view, still disclosing the identity of its pilot because of the tinted canopy. As soon as it was past the hanger doors Peppy sealed off the area and the three wasted no time making their way down the stairs and up to the Arwing where Falco, blaster drawn, jumped up on the wing and squinted through the dark cover to identify the pilot. However, as soon as he leaned forward to get a better look the canopy flew open, causing him to jump back to avoid being smacked in the face.

"Who is it Falco," Peppy asked, resting his paw on his own blaster but praying he didn't have to use it.

The bird brought his wing up to his forehead and let out a sigh, holstering his blaster while doing so. The sight before him was both relieving _and _sappy as the mental image of Krystal, sitting in Fox's lap with her arms around his neck, kissing the vulpine was stapled into his brain forever.

After a few more seconds he finally decided to let his presence be known, clearing his throat and causing both the foxes to instantly jump in surprise.

"Falco what the fuck are you doing up there!" Fox yelled in embarrassment, his face glowing.

The falcon let a laugh escape his throat as he watched both foxes turn red with embarrassment, "The better question is," he replied with a grin, "What are _you _two doing down there?"

The two exchanged a nervous glance, neither of them able to hold back the grin that came when they looked into the others face. Krystal leaned forward and touched her muzzle against Fox's, assuring him that what they had was not meant to be kept a secret from anyone. The vulpine wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight, basking in her amazing scent and cherishing the feeling of her body against his own.

"Well?" Falco asked, raising an eyebrow at the gesture.

The vulpine leaned forward and gave Krystal a quick kiss before looking back up at his friend. "We're living forever," he replied with a smirk.

(Switch POV...10 minutes later in lounge)

"And they just let you take off? Just like that?"

"Well, sort of." the vulpine replied to Peppy. "Sneaking back to the ship was a piece of cake. For its size Sargasso is extremely understaffed and we only met one guard, if you could even call him that."

"Seriously?" Falco asked, imagining the huge ship with no one inside of it. "If that's the case I'm tempted to attack it right now. Just get StarWolf out of the picture for good."

Fox shook his head, "I'm sure most of the crew was in bed. Remember, Sargasso is one of Andross' farthest allies, they are the closest to Corneria that he can reach without risk of being attacked. I'm sure there are more than enough on board to put up a good fight."

Slippy and Peppy nodded in agreement, a small nod being the only response from Falco.

"So you didn't kill Panther?" Peppy asked, an almost hopeful look in his eyes.

The vulpine remembered the image of Panther's unconscious body laying on the floor, causing a sense of satisfaction to run through his body as he flexed his knuckles. "No." he responded, admiring the cat's dried blood on his fist, "But he sure as hell deserved it after what he did."

"So he...did he...you know...

"Rape her? No. At least she insists on telling me that. But I have no way of knowing what really happened before I got to her so technically she's the only one who knows the truth."

"Well all that matters is that we're back here safe." Peppy said, trying to keep the conversation from getting too deep. "And I meant to tell you all," he continued, pushing his glasses back up, "I received a request from General Pepper last night. It appears our services are needed by the military once more."

"Well its about time." Falco retorted, standing up twisting his body in a stretch, "I don't know about you guys, but this week off has been nothing but work. I'll be glad when we're back on duty so I take it easy like the rest of the Cornerian army."

He managed to rise a chuckle out of the other pilots before making his way down the hall towards their rooms. "I'm gonna turn in, it's been a helluva day."

"Night man,"

"Sleep tight!"

"Yeah see ya in the a.m."

"Ya know, I think I'll turn in as well." Slippy added, "Now that you and Krystal are back I can take my time on repairing the Arwings."

The green toad stood up from the coach and, after giving the other two a short wave, followed in Falco's steps down the hallway. The vulpine returned the wave and turned back towards Peppy, grateful for the short moment alone with his mentor.

"So..." the hare started, his gaze falling down to the vulpine's blood covered hand. "How long do think we have before StarWolf pays us a visit?"

"They wont." he replied, leaning back in his seat and letting out a sigh.

The veteran pilot couldn't help but chuckle at the vulpine's confidence, "Oh they wont will they? After you snuck aboard their ship, paralyzed one of their elite pilots, beat another one near death, and left the place with blood on your hands you don't think they'll try to strike back?"

"No." Fox responded, the memory of Wolf's opinion about Krystal still fresh in his mind, "_They _won't."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this entire thing wasn't StarWolf's doing. Sure they played a part in it, but this wasn't Wolf's idea. It was Panther's."

Peppy rubbed his chin, obvious confusion still masking his face.

"Sure I went a little far when I shot Pigma, that may issue a rebuttal from Wolf. But I know him well enough to guess that it wont be right off. Panther however," he added, more serious and concerned now. "Unless I have him pegged completely wrong, he'll find a way to try and get back at me."

Now it was Peppy's turn to let out a sigh as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose and uncrossed his legs. "Fox," he muttered, leaning forward, "I know how you feel about Krystal. I know there is no one else in the galaxy you would rather spend time with, but you have to remember who we are, what line of work we are in."

The vulpine met the hare's eyes, catching the concern in them that was backed with years upon years of experience and wisdom. Far too many times had the veteran seen the tears in the eyes of a dead soldier's mate. Of course as the years passed the image did less and less to him, but now, just trying to picture how Fox or Krystal would take the news of the others death, it was something he knew no one could ever fix. They were in the middle of the biggest war in history, being told to 'go there' and 'clear it out' as if they were as expendable as rubber bands, and as cheap too. It only made sense that one of them would get in over their head and get themselves shot down.

"You are in no condition to fly, not for another 2 or 3 weeks." he continued, "And after what just happened, after everything you just told me, I fear that...well...i fear that maybe...

"What Peppy?"

The hare shook his head and raised his paw to the vulpine, "Nothing. It makes no difference. What's done is done and we can only move forward from it."

But his mentor had struck more than enough curiosity into the vulpine and even though he said it made no difference, it was something he needed to know.

"What are we moving forward from?" he asked, an idea of what the hare was getting at on the edge of his thoughts, "Me rescuing Krystal from Sargasso?"

Once again Peppy shook his head, "It's nothing. You did what you thought was right, regardless of how impossible the task seemed. That just proves how great of a pilot you...

"I did what I _knew _was right Peppy." he replied, "I knew how difficult it was going to be."

Another sigh fell from the hare's lips and Fox continued, "What are you saying?" he asked once again, slightly annoyed as he couldn't get the hare to meet his gaze.

_What's he getting at? It's like he _didn't _want me to save Krystal from Panther._

"I just think that...I think maybe it would've...it would've been better if...

"Spit it out Peppy!" Fox almost yelled, practically guessing the hare's next few words.

"You had left Krystal with Panther!"

The vulpine snorted in disbelief, standing up as he tried to think of a reply.

"Before I go and say something I may regret, please, explain your reasoning!"

"Fox you know I only want whats best for all of you...

"Getting raped is what's best for us?"

"...and you know as well as I do we are in the middle of the biggest war in Lylat's history..."

"Still no explanation for leaving Krystal with Panther."

"Will you let me finish?" he snapped angrily, causing the vulpine to stop pacing back and forth before he continued, "I know that she means a lot to you. But ever since she has joined the team your piloting skills have declined. You aren't as focused, you don't make the right moves when they are needed to be made. I was waiting to tell you this until tomorrow but I might as well tell you now,"

"What?" Fox replied dryly.

"Pepper wants us to lead a fleet of Pleiades Cruisers directly into sector Z exactly 2 weeks from now."

The anger in the vulpine's face slowly faded, replaced with surprise and intense thought. Sector Z was one the most heavily fortified strongholds that Andross had under his command. Even with Pleiades Cruisers and their massive firepower it would be a battle that would cost more lives than it was worth.

"Sector Z...the same sector where we were ambushed by the Venomian Army right?"

"So you understand how dangerous this mission will be?" Peppy asked hopefully. "I'd even go as far as to say that it would be easier to take over Fortuna."

_It cant be that big of a battle. _

"Well," Fox replied, trying to sound unshaken, "I guess we'll just have to prepare ourselves."

"I know you'll insist on going on this mission," Peppy replied confidently, "But I also know that in order to survive it you will need _every _ounce of your piloting skills, meaning _no distractions._"

The vulpine looked back up at the hare, expecting to receive one of those 'you better listen to me' looks. Instead he received a look that seemed to say 'please, I just want what's best for you'.

"Krystal is part of the team, and," he added softer, "Even more to me. I will not force her to leave just because you think she will affect my piloting."

"I'm just asking you, please, have her stay behind for this one. I cant have you worrying over her every second of the battle, especially considering how congested it will be out there once all hell breaks loose."

Finally it seemed Peppy had said something that the vulpine was willing to listen to. In fact, he was pretty keen of the idea. He had absolutely no doubt in his ability to enter the battle, fight his fights, and come out unscathed. But as much as he hated to admit it, Peppy was right. In a battle as epic as the upcoming one just the thought of Krystal falling out of his sight made him want to run to her room and hold her in his arms.

_Is this how I'll feel every time we go on a mission from now on? I mean, I love her with everything I have, I cant risk losing her now. Not after how far I've come. _

"I don't agree with anything else you said Peppy," he replied, "But as my teacher I know you only want what's best. So I'll comply with the last bit."

The hare let out a breath he had been holding, relief running through his old body. He looked up at Fox, a smile sliding across the vulpine's lips before the two stepped forward and wrapped their arms around each other.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you Pepp. It's just, with Krystal I've never...

"I know son, I know." he replied, "I was just like you once, I know how you feel. Just promise me you'll be careful when all this goes down. Because you getting killed wouldn't just hurt her."

The two pulled apart and Fox nodded, holding back a yawn as he watched one escape Peppy.

"Well..." he started, pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, "I believe I'll get some shut eye. We haven't got much on the docket for tomorrow except repairing those Arwing's so I should get my rest."

"G'night Peppy,"

"Good night son."

If the hare hadn't mean to call Fox his son he didn't let on, and to be honest it was a title that the vulpine was more than grateful to take. After all, Peppy was the closest thing to a father he had.

Fox looked over at the tv and checked the clock; 9:45pm. So much had happened in the last 24 hours that it seemed like he was living in a dream. But as everything sank in he realized that it had been far too long since he had held his mate in his arms. After everyone had been reacquainted and settled in somewhat the vixen had told him she felt like she needed a shower, to get Panther's stench off of her he guessed, and she gave him one last kiss before leaving the lounge and making her way down the hall.

With the image of his vixen in the shower still hot on his mind he too made his way down the hall, seeing Peppy's door close at the last second before reaching his own.

_I guess I can clean up a bit as well. As much as I love seeing Panther's blood on my knuckles I guess its somewhat of a mood killer with Krystal. _

He laughed to himself and entered his room, wasting no time stripping out of his clothes and stepping under the hot water. As the soothing liquid hit his face he did his best to imagine what all would go down in the next few weeks. There was so much to worry about, yet he felt nothing but calmness as he envisioned Krystal in his arms. As long as he had her by his side nothing that Andross or Panther threw at them would be enough to tear them apart.

Or so he thought.

000

Author's note: geezus what a chapter. Not really long but I had to set up a few things in this one to prepare the next few. PLUS I gotta go...ya know...go...like right now. So enjoy this chapter and please for the love of all that is reassuring and nice, review this friggen chapter for me.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: Ugh I've been busy. First off let me say this: I had writers block every other paragraph. For some reason I couldn't get the emotions quite the way I wanted them, and the situation set up seemed scratchy. I knew that this chapter would be completely focused around Fox and Krystal getting intimate and for some reason that made it that much harder to type. Its not a horrible chapter, its decent. It may be great, I dunno. Hell, you tell me.

000

The sapphire vixen padded out of her bathroom, a red towel covering her torso and waist. The shower had seemed like a blessing, it had made her feel as if she was washing away the memories that Panther had so diligently tried to carve into her mind. And with a sickening thought she realized that he had, in more ways than one, succeeded.

She knew she would never forget everything he had done. The feeling of her throat being forced to accommodate Panther's relentless thrusts was one that would never leave her mind. Nor the sound of his voice as he pinned her against the bed and ran his hands and tongue all over her body, telling her that she was his and everything he planned on doing to her. The vixen suppressed a shiver and did her best to shove the thoughts out of her mind, instead she tried focus on the one who had saved her.

Now she couldn't help but smile as she remembered the flight home from Sargasso, sitting in his lap, her arms around his neck the whole way. They had barely talked but only because their lips were hardly ever apart. It was a flight she would never forget, and one she would love to take time and time again. The red towel hit the floor as she slid a black bra and panties over her. Looking even deeper into the drawer she found a white pair of jogging pants that were just long enough to cover her feet, accompanied by a black t-shirt that was just large enough to fit her.

The vixen reached down and rolled up the legs of the sweatpants before looking back up at herself in the mirror.

"_I know you're beautiful. There isn't anything in the entire universe that comes close to how amazing you are."_

The vulpine's words played over her mind once more causing her to blush. When she had first joined the team she had been extremely worried as to how they would react to her blue fur. Sure she was a fox, basically the same as him in every way, give or take a few body parts, but it was more than obvious that her blue fur was a feature that no one outside of Cerenia had ever witnessed. And after being invited to join his team the vixen was afraid that she would be singled out and cast off like some weirdo.

That had definitely not been the case. In the vulpine's eyes she was the center of attention. Countless times she had managed to listen in on his thoughts from across the room as he thought about the two of them together. If nothing else, she would have Fox. Her home planet, her family, her friends, they may all be gone but she _still _had someone she could run to. As long as he was still breathing she knew there was someone to protect her and hold her in a pair of strong, caring arms.

The vixen brushed one of her bangs out from in front of her eye, looking herself over, wanting to look as good for Fox as possible.

_Lets see...he's...ah there. In the shower. _

The smallest sting of disappointment pricked her heart as she realized she would have to wait a little while longer to fall into his arms. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what else she thought about, she could never stop thinking about everything that had happened to them in the past few days and how it was all because of her. Panther's entire plan was focused around her, it was her fault that her friends were hurt and that their Arwing's were out of commission. It was her fault that Fox had to risk his life to infiltrate the massive ship known as the Sargasso Space Station just to rescue her, an adventure that would've been called suicide at best.

And now, after everything was over done, all she felt like she had the strength to do was wrap her arms around her hero and fall asleep by his side. But she wanted to do so much more.

So, letting her ambitions get the best of her she padded across the room and entered the hallway, gently closing her door behind her in case anyone else was still awake. Without hesitating she turned the handle to the vulpine's room only to find it locked. Going on instinct rather than manners she closed her eyes for a split second, easily sliding the tumblers back on the lock with her mind before letting herself in.

_There's something I have to do. After how close Panther came...I just have to try..._

She managed to push her worries away as she entered his room, only thinking about seeing him once more. Whether it was fate or just perfect timing she turned to see the door to the vulpine's bathroom swing open, a half naked Fox McCloud backing out as he cast one last glance at the mirror above his sink. He turned and froze in his step, instantly tightening his grip on the towel around his waist as he locked eyes with the vixen.

(Switch POV)

_Oh my god...she looks so amazing._

"Krystal you...

Without waiting another second she padded across the room, her eyes never leaving his as she wrapped her arms around the vulpine's neck and connected their lips in an amazingly passionate kiss. The shock and surprise slowly faded from his eyes as he lowered his arms around her waist and pulled her body tight against his own, returning the kiss with everything he had. Neither of the foxes could accurately explain what was coming over them, but it didn't matter anymore. As the two held each other tight and explored the others mouth...simply nothing else mattered.

After what seemed like minutes the vixen finally pulled away, gently biting his lower lip before resting her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you," she murmured, running a paw down his chest.

"After thirty minutes?" he asked with a grin.

"It felt like forever."

He kissed the vixen's forehead, gently stroking her back with his left hand. She was his. He had never been more sure of anything in his life. This fox, this beautiful, amazing, kind, intelligent, caring, strong, vixen...she was his. And as he held her in his arms he knew that he would see death before he let anything come between them.

"You look so beautiful," he whispered in her ear, still holding her against him. "I'll never understand how someone like you ended up with someone like me."

"Yeah I know," she replied, her muzzle resting under his chin, "We both know you're too good for me."

"Feh. Yeah right."

"I'm serious...

"So am I."

She looked up at him, slightly shaking her head, "You don't realize how many other girls would kill to have a guy like you do you?"

"I guess not." he replied, with a grin, "But I guarantee that not a single one of them even comes close to how amazing you are."

The vixen blushed, causing him to do the same before leaning in and closing the gap between them, connecting their lips in yet another passion filled kiss.

"So..." she whispered, pulling away only slightly, "What happens next?"

He smirked before letting his tongue think for itself, lashing out and giving her a quick lick on the nose, causing her to laugh and connect their mouths yet again.

"Whatever you want," he muttered, easing out of the kiss just enough to speak.

"I _don't _want to leave your side," she replied, "I just want to stay with you forever."

_This has to be the best night of my life. Why cant everything just be as easy as this?_

He let out a sigh and stepped back, holding the vixen at an arms length. Everything about her screamed beautiful. She was the most amazing fox in the entire universe and he'd fight anyone who said otherwise. She honestly deserved a life of royalty; being treated like a god simply because she was as beautiful as one. But instead she was here, with him. On a patched up ship, with a ragtag group of mercenaries who put their lives on the line every time they took off.

What the hell she saw in him he had no idea, but he was more than grateful for whatever it was.

"You know yesterday telling you I loved you was all I could think about." he said, brushing away another lock of hair from her face, "But the funny thing is, even though I've done it it's _still _the only thing I can think about."

Before she could reply he held up his hand, turning and making his way over to his dresser where he rummaged through his piles of semi-stacked clothes and finally found some blue jogging pants, a white t-shirt, and some boxers. Quickly he stepped into the bathroom and slid on the lower half of his attire before stepping back out in front of the vixen.

_Christ she is so damn beautiful._

For a moment or so they stared at each other, not knowing what move to make next but somehow content with just being able to see the other. They were only five feet apart but any distance farther than an arms length away must have been too much for her to bear and within seconds she was pressed up against him once more, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her lips against his.

_What has gotten into her? I mean, I feel the same way, I want to do the same thing, but she's just so open about it. I figured after what Panther tried to do she'd be more willing to cuddle and take it one step at a time. NOT that I don't like this! _

He returned the kiss, hoping that the vixen hadn't been reading his thoughts earlier. He was more than willing to do this with Krystal for the rest of the night, or the rest of his life to be honest, but the vulpine couldn't shake the feeling that she was pushing things a little fast considering all that had just happened. Just think about it. You see a boyfriend or husband comforting their mate minutes or even hours after they were raped. The last thing on their minds, especially hers, would be sex right?

With Krystal, judging by the pace she was going at, it seemed to be the exact opposite as she pulled Fox down on the bed, the vulpine easing his body on top of her own, still fighting against her tongue as it explored his mouth.

_I'd be more than happy to be her first, but something just doesn't seem right. The timing or something. I don't know. But I'm not about to let her do something she doesn't want to, not after all that's happened. _

He found out instantly he would need more that just sheer morals to get to the root of the vixen's motivation as he felt her paws make their way up his shirt, almost making him wonder why he even bothered putting it on. He took in the scene before him and tried to figure out why any sane being would want to stop it from playing out. Every piece of clothing that the vixen wore hugged her body's curves to the tightest stitch, and the look in her eyes, the feeling of her hands on his chest and her feet wrapped around his back almost shot every ounce of self control he still had right out the window.

_Maybe she _really _does want to do this. She sure as hell acts like it. _

Yet for some unknown reason the image of her, fur ruffled, hair messy, naked and scared as Panther had his way with her slipped into his mind. He realized, with a small sense of disappointment, that _that_ vixen was still very much alive, and had merely been pushed to the side when Fox had stepped in. Of course he knew that Krystal was strong enough to get over it on her own. Being all but raped was a horrible experience, he imagined, especially as a virgin, but Krystal was stronger than any other fox he had ever met.

But still, he knew that this wasn't the time for what he had hoped. Even now, after looking deep enough, he could see the scars and memories of her encounter with Panther behind her emerald eyes. Any other female animal in the galaxy would have broken down in tears after an experience like the one Krystal had been through, yet she held it in, only concerned with Fox and how she could repay him, how she could show him how much she loved him.

_Now isn't the time. I've got to think with my heart, not my penis. I don't care how strong she is, or how well she managed to play it off as nothing, she was hurt. And no matter how many times I beat the hell out of Panther it still wont heal the wounds he opened in her heart. _

Letting out a sigh he pulled his lips away from hers, looking away as she turned her gaze up to him in curiosity.

"Fox...

"Krystal...I...I'm not sure how...

"It's okay Fox...

"No it's not." he replied with concern, "What he did...

"I want you to be my first. There's no point in waiting any longer."

He grinned, but it was one of those 'I have to disagree with you' grins. "Yes there is," he muttered.

"What...

"After everything that you've been through," he interrupted, trying to sound worried, "After all that has happened, especially in the fast few hours, I just think that maybe we need to talk about it."

_Turning down free sex to talk. Grrrreat._

An somewhat annoyed look came across her face, "After all _I've _been through? What about you?" she asked, clenching a tuft of his fur in each paw, "Fox, you've been through so much hell just for me! All I want to do is let you know how grateful I am."

"I know that." he replied nervously, "But after what Panther did, the way you looked when I saw you...I'm just worried that you're forcing yourself to do this."

"Fox..." she whispered, unclenching his fur and running a paw up to his muzzle. "Listen to me."

He looked back down at her, still marveling at her beauty.

"I almost lost something to Panther, something that I had dreamed of giving to you every night before going to bed. And back there," she continued, gently jerking her head towards what represented Sargasso, "He was so close to turning that dream into a nightmare that I swore, if I could just be in your arms one more time...I wouldn't hesitate."

"Krystal...

"I will never forget what Panther put me through. But I also know that the only thing that will ever keep me from dwelling on it day after day is that you were the one who got me first."

"..."

"Fox I love you with everything I have. You are my hero, my savior, my knight in shining armor. I'd do anything for you just to make you happy, even if it's not having sex with you. But," she added with a small smile, "Every day you keep me waiting is another day Panther could try to kidnap me again. And I'd rather kill myself than have to live with the knowledge that Panther Caruso was my first lover, and not Fox McCloud."

Syllable by syllable the vixen's words sank in, and finally the vulpine managed to shake his head, looking down at the smiling vixen below him.

_I completely read that problem the wrong way. _

"So you're saying...you're saying that...

The vixen giggled and wrapped her paws around his neck, "I want you to," she pulled his head down until her lips were in his ear, "_fuck me," _

_I definitely read that problem the wrong way!_

"Well," he replied, clearing his throat and leaning down on her, "If that's what you want."

Both of them allowed a small laugh to escape and the next thing he knew both of their shirts were on the floor beside the pairs of jogging pants, allowing each to admire their prize all but unclothed.

"You're sure about this?" he asked, placing an open hand on her stomach as he lay beside her.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she panted, pressing her body against him, allowing the heat and lust from them both to mix together in a passionate aroma.

"I love you," he whispered, resting his muzzle against hers and running his hands down her backside and under the elastic of her panties.

"Show me."

Author's note: Okay that's the end of this one. I'll consider adding a chapter right after this one containing the whole yiff scene if AND ONLY IF I get a lot of requests for me to do so. And even if I do, consider it more of a footnote to the story, because we all know what will happen regardless, so there's no point in changing the story line either way. Anyhow, I apologize for the length of time it took to get this chapter up. I've been preoccupied, but I plan to have some more writing time in the near future. I also like to wait a few days and see how the reviews chalk up. If I get a lot of reviews in a short day or two I'll do my best to have the next chapter up asap, however if I only get a few reviews I don't feel rushed and therefore take my time. Is that a good thing? lol


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: Okay read this. This chapter is somewhat different from my usual writing method. It all takes place on Sargasso and it's basically just explaining what Wolf and Leon think of all that Panther has done. You might disagree with me but I just think that I wrote this chapter with a different style of writing than usual. But I assure you it was just to set the mood. You have to understand, Panther has completely changed. He's hardened his heart, his mind is full of sinister thoughts concerning what all he's going to do and...well...just read it.

The second part of this chapter is kinda...dark/twisted...so yeah...

000

"How long has it been since he's slept?"

"Two days."

"Eaten?"

"Two days."

"Bathed?"

"Take a guess."

Wolf sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Things where getting extremely out of hand. It was three days after Panther's confrontation with Fox. Three days since Panther had stumbled out of his room, covered in blood, and holed himself up in the command post, only coming out to use the bathroom and clean his broken nose.

The look on his face had been one of insanity to say the least. In some ways it equaled the look that Fox had had burning in his eyes when he came to rescue the vixen. Now, it appeared, they both were more than ready to kill or be killed for the her, and Wolf knew, regardless of how much power he held, that it would go down. And if one of them was going to die it had might as well be McCloud. As much as he disagreed with Panther's motive to pool together a force strong enough to easily crush StarFox, he couldn't help but admire his planning.

Numerous times he had joined the cat in the command post over the last few days, answering the rare question that Panther might have, but otherwise simply watching him pull strings and increase his power.

He had never known Panther to be a battle expert. Sure he was a good pilot, almost to the same level as himself and McCloud, but other than that the canine hadn't seen any other talent from him. But now, as he had watched Panther work, he figured he had either grossly underestimated him _or _the cat had crammed every fighting tactic in the book into his head over night. But what impressed him even more was his ability to gather resources.

Sargasso had never been much more than a hideout for rogues and, as of lately, a few remaining aparoids. But almost overnight a squadron of Invader III fighter's showed up and docked with the space station. Wolf and Leon had went down to investigate, demanding to know why they thought they could just make themselves at home. The answer they received was nowhere near short of surprising.

"Direct orders from General Andross Oikonny." the terrier had replied. "As of 1100 hours last night this squadron received orders to drop all attempts at retaking the planet Zoness and to dock with the Sargasso Space Station where we will await further orders from a...Panther Caroso."

It didn't stop there. Before the day was over with two more squadrons had shown up, totaling their fighting force at 75.

But that wasn't all together true. It wasn't _their _fighting force. It was Panther's. Somehow he had managed to climb up the Venomian rankings to such a point that he could speak directly to Andross himself. And whatever it was Andross had seen in Panther, whether it was his passionate hate towards a common enemy, or just the rage and malice in his eyes, it apparently had been more than enough reason to send some of his forces their way.

"What's your take on all of this?" Leon asked, casting a glance up at the command post.

The two stood side by side in the hanger beside their Wolfens, watching the pilots chatter away with each other. Most of them had only been here for one day but it was more than long enough to get on his nerves. This was _his _ship. He made the calls. Never before had he even considered the thought of aiding Andross in his conquest for the destruction of Lylat. This wasn't his war. Regardless of who won he knew he'd still be a mercenary, and he planned on keeping it that way.

"Well it wasn't my idea." he replied, his low voice just as calm as ever.

"But you're okay with it?"

"No. Panther went over my head. What's worse is he couldn't give two shits about it either."

Leon narrowed his gaze, looking back across the hanger at the mix of pilots that loitered around their ships. As much of a surprise as this had been to Wolf it had been an even bigger surprise to him. Until he had made a late night run to the kitchen for a drink he hadn't the slightest clue that anything had went down. However on the way back to his room he found it hard to ignore the pool of blood that oozed from under Pigma's doorway and within the hour everything had been explained to him.

Honestly it hadn't bothered him that much. Fox McCloud could do whatever the hell he wanted with that freak of a fox he calls Krystal. Personally he was glad she was off the ship, her mind reading powers were more than enough reason for him to want to kill her himself. The fact that she could see right through him, that she could access his memories and feel his emotions...it was something that he wouldn't have tolerated for long. As for Pigma, the chameleon figured it was just karma. Nothing more nothing less. He could care less about any of them as long as he had a ship to kill with and a place to refuel and grab a bite.

"Since when did he start giving orders?"

"Apparently since Fox kicked his ass." the canine replied, annoyed.

Leon chuckled and examined one of his fingers, "Don't call me on this," he muttered, flicking away a piece of dead skin, "But if I didn't know any better I'd say you're scared of him."

Wolf tensed up and managed to bite his tongue, not wanting to lose his cool in front of everyone. In more ways than one Leon was right. He would rather go head to head with Andross right now rather than Panther.

"Panther...he's changed." he managed to reply, somehow very calmly. "He's worked nonstop for 3 days just planning on how to get back at Fox."

"And all this time I thought he was _your _enemy."

"He is. I'd like nothing better than to square off with him just one more time. Hell he might even beat me, but that's all part of the game."

If Leon was surprised he didn't show it. He simply kept his gaze straight ahead, focusing on something in the distance that he would never really pinpoint.

"So about Panther." he muttered, turning his gaze back up towards the dark command post. "Any idea what's going through his head?"

Wolf shifted his weight over to his right leg and crossed his arms, not wanting to admit to Leon that he had been thinking the same thing all day. To the average soldier it was obvious. Panther was massing a fleet of fighters from both Sargasso and the Venomian army in order to launch an attack on GreatFox. But it went so much more deeper than that. Panther didn't intend on simply blowing up the ship and returning with his head held high, that much was clear to him.

Panther wanted revenge and he wanted it in the most devastating form possible. It was there that Wolf had raised his own questions. He had no idea what Panther was planning on doing, but the look on his face, the determination and rage in his eyes told Wolf that whatever it was that he had in mind it would be nothing short of horrific. He tried imagining how the whole thing would play out; all their forces attacking at once, easily overtaking the GreatFox after a minute or so of futile resistance. Forcing their way inside, killing anyone and everyone who got in the way until they found Fox and Krystal.

He imagined Fox, his eyes full of hate and protection as he prepared to defend the vixen against what would probably be a platoon's worth of soldiers. Eventually he would be subdued, probably injured to some extent but not killed. Maybe never killed. But forever held captive. The creature that Panther had turned into wouldn't allow it to end so quickly, that much was obvious. He would want Fox to suffer both physically and emotionally, forcing him to watch as Krystal was subjected to whatever event Panther could come up with.

The cat was insane. He no longer cared about anything other than getting that sapphire fox.

"I have my guesses." he replied, trying to ignore the sick thoughts that he could only guess where running through Panther's mind. "Obviously he wants to destroy StarFox, but not for the reasons I would have preferred."

"All of this," Leon hissed, throwing a hand around the room, "Is because of the vixen isn't it? It's because of her that Panther got his ass kicked, and now its because of her that he's gone nuts and thinks he's the next Andross."

Wolf couldn't help but chuckle and nod in agreement. Leon had hit the nail on the head. Yet as much as trouble as the vixen had caused he couldn't help but understand why both of them were so intent on fighting for her. She _was _beautiful. He wouldn't mind if she was his for one night as well, perhaps, if Panther's maniacal scheme actually worked he could arrange that for him.

"I never expected it to go this far." Leon added, a hint of disappointment on his voice.

"I did."

(Change POV) Panther's insanity.

_3 squadrons on Sargasso, two more on the way from Venom. We'll surround them. It'll be over before they can even get the hanger doors open. We'll hammer away at that shitty excuse for a ship they call GreatFox until its on the verge of falling to pieces then we'll force our way in. I'll kill them all. Falco, Slippy, Peppy. Dead, dead, dead. The crew. All dead. _

"Then Fox." he whispered to himself, watching his hand form a fist in the dim light of the command post.

"And my sweet Krystal."

He cast a glance over the table before him, endless amounts of papers and documents scattered across it. Maps, diagrams, the name of every living family member of the entire StarFox team. Every scrap of information that he could possibly get his hands on that concerned every member was laid out before him. From that it went even further, listing the names of every 1st Lieutenant in the Venomian army forces near Sargasso, followed by every Colonel, then every Major, and finally Andross and his Generals.

For 6 straight hours he had made calls, talked to officers via transmissions and messages. He had lied about his identity, impersonated other personnel, made deals, and even a threat, until he was patched through to Andross himself on a call deemed 'extremely important.' Within minutes of talking with the emperor he knew he had gained his support. Anyone who wanted McCloud out of the way as bad as he did would easily gain the resources needed to get the job done. And so his diligence paid off. Within six more hours the troops had started arriving in their Invaders.

It wasn't the force that Panther wanted, at least not because it would be needed. In the shape that StarFox was in right now, after the beating they had received a few days ago, they could easily strike with their normal fighters and take them out. But it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted an entire fleet at his back, he _wanted _Fox to know it was over. He _wanted _the vulpine to fall to his knees in defeat, realizing that no matter how much he loved Krystal that it was impossible to save her from a force this mighty.

The darkness of the room seemed to seethe into his mind as his played out the scene is his mind. Fox was on the bridge, holding her, trying to hide his depression. The ship had taken so much damage that it would only be a matter of time before it busted to pieces, killing them all. They didn't even get to launch an Arwing, the attack coming on so quickly. So he held her in his arms, not knowing what he could do other than wait. But then the fire would stop. Then the hanger doors would be forced open. Within minutes they'd be in the back of the ship, doing whatever they could to fight off the swarms of soldiers than swarmed the halls of GreatFox.

Peppy and Slippy would be lying on the floor, their own blood encasing every inch of their bodies. Falco would be leaning around a corner firing a shot or two at the massive squad of Venomian soldiers all the while screaming at Fox to take Krystal to the rear of the ship while he held them off. He grinned as he imagined the hopelessness that Fox would be feeling as he regretfully left his friend to die only to postpone the inevitable. He would make his way to the cargo bay, hoping that the escape pod would be enough to make it off the ship and to safety only to launch it into space where they would be surrounded by another squadron Invaders.

_What then Fox? There you are, trapped like a rat. You know it's over, you lost. We'll capture you and my Krystal and the beginning of the end of your lives will be at hand. _

The thought brought a smile to his face as he leaned back in his chair. In such a short time he had achieved so much. It was in the middle of all his planning that he realized that Fox's intervention was a blessing in disguise. Before all he had wanted was Krystal. All his mind needed to be content was her body, her flower. Just being able to add another notch to his bedpost. But now, after dreaming about something for so long and having it ripped away, getting humiliated and defeated with such ease, it gave him the strength he had longed for.

You never realize what you have until it's gone. Afterward you want it with such an extreme desire that you'll go insane and do the impossible to achieve it, but of course, in the usual case whatever it is you are searching for is either destroyed or dead. Neither of which happened to be the case this time. Krystal was still alive. She was probably in his arms as he thought this but Panther hoped for that. He wanted them to get closer. He wanted the two foxes to become so close to each other that being apart for only a minute would be like torture.

If that was the case then just imagine what it would be like if his plan, no, _when _his plan succeeded. Imagining it almost drove the cat to putting his plan into action right then and there, yet he refrained, allowing his mind to picture how sweet his victory would be. He had no pity for either of them. If once he had loved Krystal it seemed like an eternity ago. Now she was just an item.

He would hold her by the throat, relishing the choking sounds that escaped her throat as she fought for air, all the while he'd be running a knife down her body, starting at her neck and making his way down to her precious little channel. Without skipping a beat he would rip off her flight suit, still holding her by the throat, running the knife between her legs as he toyed with her.

That would just be the beginning. No. It wouldn't even be that much. A never ending lust for her body burned within him. She had escaped his grasp once and just look at what it had done to him. If she was ever back under his control she would stay that way until she died. Whether it was from old age or being tortured, or some other twisted form of servitude, he didn't care. He _would _have his way with her. He would ravage the vixen's body unconscious time and time again.

And Fox, if his plan worked out the way he intended it to, would not miss a second of it. Panther knew he'd rather die fighting to protect her than allow the vixen to be captured again, and that was a wish that he would regretfully grant if push came to shove. However, the cat was also more than determined to keep the vulpine alive. Having Krystal as his own wasn't good enough, not anymore. He could do whatever he wanted to her, things that anyone else would be forced to turn away from to keep from getting sick, but no matter how much he defiled her, no matter how many tears she cried, how humiliated and hopeless she felt, it wouldn't be enough for him unless Fox was there to see it.

Dead or alive. Either would be enough to satisfy him when he thought about it though he preferred the latter. Whether Fox was lying on the floor, his cold lifeless eyes staring across the room at Krystal as she was subjected to Panther's will, or if he was alive, jerking his arms against the chains that held him to the wall, screaming mumbled threats across the room through a gag. Either would work. But, as mentioned, he preferred the latter. Fox's limbs chained to a wall, his body beaten and tortured, his mouth gagged yet his eyes always open, always watching. Never missing a second of Krystal's humiliation.

_I will not fail. Nothing will stop me and I will stop at nothing. Krystal is mine. Her body belongs to me. I will destroy her and he will be there to see every second of it. _

He opened his eyes, allowing them to readjust to the darkness of the room.

"Just a few more days."

_Get closer. Get to the point to where being away from the other for only a second makes your life absolutely miserable. _

"Now imagine that pain forever."

Everything was slowly coming together. Soon his plan would be put into action. Soon.

000

Author's Note: Well like I said this chapter was different (boring). I did my best to portray Panther as what he is: insane. He wants more than just revenge, and to such an extent that I'm struggling with myself trying to decide whether or not to let him achieve his desire, if only for a chapter. But that would be a sick chapter. Like extreme yiff bdsm. I'm not really into that, I struggle with the normal stuff as it is. But if one of you guys reading would like to make a story taking off from something like that then be my guest. Anyways, back on subject: This chapter WAS written with a different feel. In my opinion it was probably boring but you must understand that I cant just jump into the fight scene without setting it up. I plan on going back to GreatFox and Sargasso at least one more time before the big scene.

As for the FoxxKrystal scene, I'm thinking at the end of this entire story I'll add a bonus chapter containing that scene. Sound good?

Brett Maylone, thanks for you're reviews. They are appreciated and I'm glad that some people out there think the same way. Its a good thing I guess. :)


	16. Chapter 16

I made a mistake: No one pointed it out, well, I did, right now. I said that Krystal and Fox made their way back to GreatFox in his Arwing right? Which means Krystal's Arwing is still on Sargasso right? Oops. She could've flown her own back but I had a stupid moment and skipped right over that possibility. So, going on how the story has it recorded, StarFox is host to only 3 Arwings now.

First off, before I forget. Check out this story called "The Beginning" by Critcalkill. It's his first story and its pretty darn good. If you like my style of writing then you'll enjoy his as well. I urge you to check it out, review it, give him an honest opinion and a few pointers. Anyways, this story is getting annoying. When I'm at my cpu I don't feel like working on it, but when I'm stuck in school its all I can think about. Its kinda like how you aren't thirsty if you have a water bottle at your side all day, but if you don't, then its like you're gonna die. Kinda...right? 'clears throat' anyway...here's how I figured this one should begin.

Action...

You ever had the feeling that your life was absolutely perfect, if only for a day? The feeling that seems to say, 'Everything I could ever want and need is right in front of me. I have nothing to worry about at all.' Ya know..._that _feeling? Well, it may sound a little corny but as he lay in bed, her body pressed up against his own, following the rise and fall of her bare chest against him, he decided that his life was in fact, perfect.

His eyes slipped up to the headboard, a smirk crossing his lips as he admired the sapphire vixen's black panties draped across them. Flicking his eyes over to the bedside table he caught the corner of her bra, barely hanging on to the edge. Then he returned his gaze to their owner, the naked, sleeping fox who's muzzle rested under his chin. It was with a sense of satisfaction that he realized she had been sleeping lights out ever since they had exhausted themselves the night before.

If any word could describe those sixty straight non-stop minutes of pure raw love and emotion he was yet to find it. He remembered how unbelievably sexy she had looked, lying on the bed before him, the only thing her body wearing was it's blue coat of fur and a lust filled smile as she took hold of his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her. At first he had feared that neither of them would be willing to make the first move but, once again, she proved him wrong, wasting no time at all in showing the vulpine how much she _truly _loved him.

_How many times was it? Three? Four? Maybe even five? Hell I cant remember, but I'll sure as hell never forget either._

If it had been her first time then she had definitely fooled him. Sure he had been around the block a few times, being a mercenary had its secret advantages and there were a few times Falco and his liquor got the upper hand. But compared to Krystal none of them seemed like anything more than cuddling in bed for a few hours before heading off.

He brought his attention back to the room. According to the clock, which he could only see the first digit due to his own shirt being thrown over it, it was 5 o'something in the morning. Any other day he'd be on his feet already, checking on the crew and readying themselves for the next assignment. But they were still on 'vacation' for another two days, and even if they weren't he knew he wouldn't move an inch until Krystal was awake.

_Just let her sleep here forever. _

The feel of every inch of her body pressed up against his was one he would never tire of. From her head to her breasts, to her waist and knees and finally her feet, every piece of her body was up against him as the vixen slept. It was how they had fallen asleep, after their last round the two exhausted, yet more than satisfied, foxes had pulled each other close, falling to sleep with image of the other underneath their eyelids.

But even after all that had happened within the last night he still couldn't push away the doubt in his mind. No matter how hard he tried to pretend everything was perfect, that they had nothing to worry about from now on, the image of Panther would flash back into his thoughts.

_All of this...it wasn't just over some crush. Panther wanted Krystal with such intensity...that's why I knew I had to get her back that night. I cant see him giving up so easily, not after seeing the look in his eyes. And to make matters worse, we're in no condition to fight right now. Only two repaired Arwing's, a third nowhere near ready, and Krystal's is on Sargasso. _

In route of escaping the ship they had only searched briefly for Krystal's Arwing, which had apparently been put in one of the storage sheds because they couldn't see it anywhere in the hanger. So now the team was minus one ship, a realization that the vulpine feared would come back to haunt them in the long run.

_Or the short run. I have no idea if, or when, Panther will retaliate. But if he does, out here in the farthest sector of Cornerian control with only 2 working planes to defend ourselves, we could be in deep shit. _

Instantly he wanted to jump up and run to the command post, setting the GreatFox on a direct course to the nearest Cornerian military outpost where at least they would have allies to help them fight off any attackers. But the combination of the vixen's scent washing over him and the touch of her naked body running along his own refrained him. He realized that the entire Venomian army could've attacked them and he wouldn't have moved an inch because she would no longer be by his side.

_Maybe I'm just getting all worked up over nothing. I mean, after what I did to Panther he'd probably be to scared to try something like that again. Plus its not like he's insane or anything, he just wanted Krystal for her body. He's not in love with her. _

The vulpine's reassuring words seemed to satisfy his conscious, if only for a little while longer. For now, he would lay his arm over her waist and rest his chin on her head, breathing in her scent and pressing his body closer to her.

_Last night was simply amazing Krystal. I'm glad I was your first. _

He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead before closing his eyes once more in sleep. Everything was perfect. Panther wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything, but he'd keep his eyes open just in case. They'd head back to Corneria in preparation for the assault on Sector Z in 2 days and hopefully after than huge operation, if it succeeded, Andross would have suffered such massive losses that the team wouldn't be needed for a while. Sector Z, after all, was basically Andross' last big stronghold, if it fell back into Cornerian hands then who knows how Andross would fight the rest of the war.

The clock still read 5 o'something and he decided that he might as well try to catch another hour or two of sleep. They were on vacation after all.

(Switch POV)

The sapphire vixen fell to the cold metal floor, her heart racing as she struggled for breath. She glanced up and instantly rolled to her left, the end of a blade still managing to cut into her ribcage causing her to let out a scream of pain. She tried to bring her right arm down to cover the wound but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to control it. It was then that she looked down at her arm, instantly realizing it wasn't hers. Where there should have been blue fur there was a cast, and the color beneath it wasn't her sapphire but rather a brownish orange.

She quickly looked over the rest of her body and realized that it wasn't _her _body she was in. It was Fox's.

Before she could even begin to try and figure out what was going on another sharp pain stabbed her in the side causing her to let out a scream of pain. She fell the rest of the way down, lying on the floor and doing what she could to hold her sides as the blood pooled out around her.

Tears ran down her face, or Fox's face rather, as she suffered the intense pain of the stab wounds in her side. Summoning all the remaining strength she had she managed to turn her head in the opposite direction in hopes of finding her murderer. But where the killer should have been there was nothing, only blackness. The walls of the GreatFox's hallway began to close in on her and everything seemed to turn a horrible shade of crimson red.

She was dying. But in some far off way she knew it wasn't real. She knew that it wasn't really happening and suddenly she was outside of the bleeding body, looking down from above at Fox's corpse as it took its dying breaths. Something inside her was screaming for her to go back down and help the vulpine she so strongly loved, yet no matter how hard she tried the vixen was stuck watching from above, watching Fox die because of her.

The entire scene was almost in a complete shade of crimson and the vixen was sobbing as the sense of helplessness set in around her. Somewhere in her mind she knew this wasn't real, she knew it had to be a dream, yet no matter how hard she wished it would end, no matter how loudly she screamed at the vulpine's lifeless body she knew that it was stuck in her memory forever. She tried closing her eyes, she tried looking away, but regardless of how hard she struggled she remained paralyzed in the air above her lover's blood covered body.

The insanity seemed to freeze at one point, the vixen no longer sobbing but simply crying and wishing the dream to be over with. His body was below her, sitting in a pool of his own blood, forcing the vixen to imagine the rest of her life without him every second that passed. She knew she'd kill herself. It was a sick and sudden realization but it was true. After all they had done, after everything they had put into each others heart, she knew that living the rest of her life while knowing he was dead would be more agonizing than hell itself.

Finally, as if her subconscious couldn't take anymore of its own creation, the entire scene went black, the only thing remaining being the scent of Fox's blood, still in her mind from when he had saved her nearly a week ago. As the scene faded she raised her head, finally able to move once more. It was pitch black, she couldn't see anything at all and for a hopeful second she thought it was over. But her mind had one more twist for her and, as if putting the finishing touches on her nightmare, Panther's face instantly appeared in front her.

It was still pitch black yet his golden eyes glowed with pleasure. She tried to move once more but found her hands and feet were tied allowing Panther to chuckle and lean forward until his face was touching hers.

"I'm coming for you," he murmured lustfully, running his tongue along her cheek and into her mouth. "Consider this dream a foreshadow of things to come."

She struggled to turn her head away from his mouth, only getting another powerful laugh out of the cat before he reached forward and grabbed her by the throat, holding her against him as she struggled for air.

"And what happened to Fox back there, that will happen as well. But I guarantee he'll suffer a lot more than just a few stabs to the gut before hes put out of his misery."

The sapphire fox struggled for air, regretfully taking in every word Panther whispered in her ear as he easily restrained her.

"And," he added, reaching back with his right hand, "It's all your fault."

The cat's powerful fist connected with her stomach instantly jolting her awake and back into consciousness. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light in the room as her heart raced in fear. Timidly she brought her shaking hands up to her throat and whimpered as she felt the bruises that Panther's paw had left on it, causing her to raise the cover and examine her stomach where she also felt the pain from her dream.

Then she remembered the rest of the dream.

Immediately she looked over at Fox, wasting no time in throwing the covers back and examining his body. She braced herself for despair as she looked over his stomach for the deep gashes that had killed him in her dream. But, as the sensible part of her had known all along, he was fine and all she had succeeded in doing was waking him up.

The vulpine yawned and slowly opened his eyes, smiling at the vixen before him. She tried to return the smile but it was extremely unsuccessful and she ended up closing her eyes and falling into his chest, instantly telling him that something wasn't right. She tried to hold back her tears but somehow being in his arms was all the more reason to let them out. A few minutes ago she had been forced to watch him die, a torture that was beyond any other thing she could think of, and now that she was back in reality where he was still living and breathing she wasted no time in showing him how grateful she was.

"Krystal...whats wrong? Why are you upset?"

She felt him tighten his hold on her, resting his muzzle over her head and softly stroking her hair as she silently cried on his shoulder.

_That dream...it was so realistic. I actually felt that pain! But what does it mean? How is that possible? Fox isn't hurt, he's perfectly fine._

"I just...I had a bad dream." she said softly, trying her best to hide how shaken she was.

"Well," he replied gently, "Do you want to talk about...

"No!"

The two of them froze for a second before the vulpine slowly nodded and returned to stroking her hair.

"Whatever it was," he whispered, giving her a loving squeeze, "It wasn't real. You've been through a lot Krystal, and I can understand how some of what you've been forced to do might haunt you."

_If only you knew Fox...if only._

She could sense the anger coming from the vulpine, obviously blaming Panther for whatever it was that was causing her to hurt. Yet she couldn't tell him about it. Something like that...a dream as real and horrible as that...how could she? How could she possible tell Fox that she dreamed she was in his body as he was killed by Panther, and that in the end it was all...her...fault.

The vixen took a few more seconds to gather herself before finally pulling her face out of the vulpine's chest. She looked up at him allowed the smallest of smiles to cross her lips as she brought her arms around his neck.

"I just had a dream where I thought I'd lost you." she managed to mutter before leaning forward and gently kissing him.

_That's all I can say to him. It's all I can manage._

"I'm still here," he replied with a smirk before issuing another gentle kiss.

_Just ignore it for now. Don't have him worried over it as well, you've already caused enough problems. _

She did her best to push the nightmare from her thoughts and focus more on the love of her life before her. She returned the kiss and leaned forward, pushing him back on the bed as she urged him to go even further with the sensation. The feel of his muscular body against hers, his protective arms holding her close, she found it easier and easier to forget her troubles, just as long as he was there.

"I figured you'd be worn out from last night," he murmured with a smile, resting his paws on each side of her tail.

The vixen smirked and rested her head under his chin as she lay on top of him, knowing that he was right. After all they had done last night, as amazing and beautiful as it had been, it had worn her out. And where she should have been able to rest up while sleeping she had been forced to endure the most horrific nightmare of her life. So needless to say, after everything that had happened, not just the night before but the entire week in itself, she was dead tired.

_I need to rest up...but if I go to sleep again will I have that dream? I couldn't even wake myself up, something even a Cerenian newborn can do, and if that's the case can I even risk closing my eyes?_

It wasn't just a dream, it was a premonition. In the back of her mind she recalled her mother telling her that Cerenians could sometimes see and feel things in their dreams as if they were real. She had passed it off as malarkey figuring it was just a trick to get her to sleep in hopes of having an adventure while she slept, but now, now it didn't seem as farfetched.

_But it was just a nightmare. Its not the future. It makes perfect sense that I'd have a dream about Panther after everything he's done. But that's all over and done with. The only one I have to worry about now is Fox. _

And with that thought fresh on her mind she shoved the disturbing nightmare completely out of her thoughts, bringing her attention back to the vulpine below her.

She turned her head and kissed his cheek, "Why would you figure that? Are you tired?"

He raised an eyebrow at her before allowing a smirk to flash across his lips, "Are you kidding?" he replied, running his paws up her slender waist and to her shoulders, "I could've gone on for days."

_I wouldn't doubt it._

She laughed and rolled over, leaving the two foxes facing each other. The clock read 8:26 and she knew that they would eventually have to get up or someone would come looking for them, and that was a confrontation neither were quite ready to put out in the open just yet.

"Now what?" she asked, looking into his green gaze.

"I don't know. To be honest I just want to stay like this."

She smiled and took his hand in hers, allowing herself to fall deeper and deeper into the safety of his eyes. It had been the answer she had hoped for but in reality they both knew that duty would call and their lives would be back to a professional manner. Sure they would still be close, they could still hold each other and exchange the occasional kiss, but in front of everyone else, when both were supposed to posses a professional attitude, such feelings would have to be pocketed until a later time, a requirement that caused her to squeeze his hand even tighter.

"But we cant,"

He nodded, letting out a sigh and resting his muzzle on her forehead. "Sometimes I wish that I could just quite all of this and run away with you. Just leave all the fighting behind and find us a nice place where we can spend forever together."

"I cant wait for this stupid war to be over,"

The two were silent for a moment, taking the time to imagine what their lives would be like if they could start over on some nice planet without wars or enemies trying to blow you up. But try as she might she just couldn't see it working out. There was something about being on GreatFox, fighting _and _loving in the middle of all of this that made it so special.

"How about some breakfast?" he asked suddenly, jerking her out of her fantasy. "You've gotta be hungry after all you've been put through,"

She laughed and gently punched him in the arm, "You didn't wear me out that much Mr. Amazing."

"Hey!" he replied rubbing his arm casting her a hurt look, "I meant after _everything _that has happened not just last night."

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were bragging about how great you were last night." she retorted, shooting him an apologetic look.

"So I _was _great?"

"What? You...

"C'mon be honest,"

"Fox please...

"You want breakfast or not?"

The look on his face was one of complete seriousness although she could easily pick up on the joking behind it. She rolled her eyes and rested her hand over his face.

"Fine...you were great,"

He laughed and rolled away from her, jumping out of bed and standing next to his dresser, obviously content with his answer. But without wasting a second she was up beside him, pressing the vulpine against the wall, enjoying the surprise that registered over his face.

"So that makes me?"

He gulped and forced the surprise from his face, once more relishing the feel of her naked body against his own.

"That makes you amazing." he muttered, closing the gap between them and allowing the vixen to press him further against the wall.

"I love you," she panted, breathing in his powerful scent as she pulled away and leaned against him.

"I love you too, and I'll prove it to you every day." he replied, holding her tight and running his hand through her hair. "No matter what it takes."

Somewhere in the back of her mind the dream resurfaced and she couldn't help but notice a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as the image of Fox's dead body lying before her entered her thoughts once more. She knew Fox would do _anything _for her, either to protect her or make her happy, but if her dream was any sign at all, if there was even a remote chance that it would come true, then she feared it would be her fault that the vulpine was dead. And she could never live with that.

_No matter what happens I'm not going to let you die for me. All of this is my fault and I'm tired of you taking all the blame and suffering. Even if I have to die, if that's what it takes, I will. _

The dream seemed like so much more than just a nightmare now and try as she might she couldn't lock it away. If something was going to happen, if Fox was going to get hurt, if he died, she had no idea how she would find the strength to continue living.

She rested her head on his chest and did her best to focus on the vulpine, but on the inside she knew she was a wreck. Fox was alive and well right now, but there was something, either the dream or some other notion that her mind was picking up on that told her something dark was coming their way, and this whole escapade wouldn't be over until more blood was shed.

And it was all over her.

000

(Author's note: Damn this one was a bitch to write. I kept getting different ideas and to be honest I still feel like this chapter was lacking...ah whats the word...activity? Maybe that's it. It could still be considered boring to some extent but that's up to the reader. The reason it took so long to get up is because Class night and Prom are coming up, the 14h of this month, aka tomorrow, and I've been busy getting ready for that stuff. Anyways, I tried to get a lot more info done in this chapter, setting up emotions and scenes, updating relationships and adding another horror twist to the story. I promise its going to get pretty heavy soon.)


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: Okay well I started this one off with Panther again, I had to do some research on my StarFox warfare to complete this one but its done and I think you all will like it. I especially liked typing the second part of this chapter where the POV switches. Anyways, read on, I think you'll enjoy.

000

Two days had passed since he had lost, yet in his mind every second of those 48 hours was filled with a seething hatred that had finally overwhelmed him.

It was amazing really, how much he had managed to do in just a little over 2 days. The strings he had pulled, the calls he had made, the army he had built, it had all been done in such a quick manner that it almost felt like a dream. But whenever something is pushing you to excel in whatever it is you are doing you seem to find ways to get the job done, and fast. Never mind the fact that Andross had already given the two squadrons of Invaders the order to reinforce Sargasso, Panther seen that merely as fate playing into his hand.

No, this wasn't a dream. The deep pulse of hatred that ran through his body with every breath reminded him all too clearly that he was awake and alive, constantly seeing her, watching the scenes play out in his mind, every one of them ending with a dead vulpine and a ravaged sapphire vixen at his feet.

_Soon. Very, very soon. _

His golden eyes ran over the monitors in front of him, showing him the crowded halls of the space station as the Venomian troops made the best of their new home. They were nothing to him but assets to an inevitable demise. They weren't needed, yet they were. There was always the chance that Cornerian fighters would be in the vicinity of their attack, meaning the Invaders would be needed after all in order for his plan to run smoothly, yet the cat wouldn't count on it. He had been watching GreatFox's every move since his plan had been put into action and the ship hadn't moved more than a few hundred miles back towards Cornerian forces, a good twenty minutes from any reinforcements.

_More than enough time to kill them all and take whats mine. _

The cat clenched his fist and fixed his gaze over the upper left most screen, watching with suspicion as Wolf stared aimlessly into space from the bridge. He knew the lupine didn't like the way things were going down, but at the same time he also knew that there was nothing he could do to stop it. _He _was in control now. Not because of a thirst for power, but rather a thirst for blood. After this was over and done with Wolf could kick him from the team for all he cared, that would just give him more time to train his fox.

_He'll follow along with it, but not a second more than he has to. But he doesn't dare challenge me about it now...smart move._

Everything was ready, and an entire day earlier than he had hoped for it to be. GreatFox would be destroyed, along with anyone inside of it, except of course, Krystal and Fox. He would make sure those two lived, to be alive to witness their own deaths in the slowest most painful way possible. The whole plan was set, everything was full-proof. An entire fleet of fighters crashing down on a defenseless piece of shit ship that was desperately sending out distress calls for help that wouldn't get there until it was far far too late.

Of course there was more to it than just that, but why go into detail? He knew that he was ready. He had wanted to wait a few more days, wanted to allow a false sense of security to overtake them. That would have made their downfall seem so much more sweet and unexpected, but his common sense told him that waiting such an extended period of time would be too risky. Already they were slowly retreating to Cornerian forces, why they hadn't done so already was a mystery to him, but he once again took it as fate playing into his hand.

_There is nothing that can stop me now. Everyone knows their part, even Fox and Krystal. I will succeed. _

The computer behind him let out a notification beep causing him to flick his gaze away from the cameras. It was a simple message, but one that only strengthened his resolve as he read every word.

"**I have sent two Zeram-Class Cruisers to be used at your expense in the disposal of Team StarFox. Upon reviewing the battle plan you showed me I decided that you may need a little more firepower to get the job done, considering how close to Cornerian forces their ship has gotten. You have gained my respect, something that very few have been able to do. Do not lose it. Annihilate Fox McCloud and his team." - Andross Oikonny: General of the Venomian Army.**

Panther placed his hands behind his neck and looked up at the ceiling, a slow grin working across his face as he watched a new battle unfold before him. If there had been any doubt whatsoever about succeeding before it was gone now. He had found favor in the eyes of the most powerful commander in the galaxy, he had more warfare under his control than he would ever need for the task at hand and, the ones being targeted had no idea any of it was coming.

_And if they do suspect something they'll still be crushed. What I've done will bring him to his knees, he will beg me to not harm her, he'll gladly give up his life to protect her. But this time you wont be able to. This time you will lose, you'll die knowing that she will suffer for the rest of her life._

As if on cue the radar on the ship's computer began issuing a beeping sound, announcing the arrival of the Zeram Cruisers. Apparently Andross had timed his message as a pleasant surprise, causing the cat to chuckle darkly as he watched the two massive battle ships come into range of the space station. There had to be thousands of men aboard those ships, not to mention the hundreds of fighters that it harbored in its hanger.

_I'll launch every one of them. I want McCloud to know he's lost, I want him to know it is over._

Everything kept going his way, and he took it has fate, as destiny for him to win. It was set in stone for him to annihilate any and all traces of StarFox, to claim his prize and destroy their leader. Now, as he reworked the entire battle in his mind he knew, with the army he had so assertively built in only two days he would extinguish Fox McCloud and his team from existence forever. It would serve as the only punishment that could come even relatively close to torturing Fox and Krystal enough for what they had done to him.

_I will not be stopped. I will have you Krystal. Dead or alive, I will have you. _

(Change POV) I enjoyed typing this next part.

Fichina Space Station *12 hours later.

The white husky cast a lazy glance around the command room, admiring the colorful lights that bounced off the walls from the other computers. To be honest, the way they flickered off the dark walls of the room sometimes lulled him to sleep, which usually ended in the Lieutenant chewing his ass out for sleeping on the job. But even the lieutenant seemed to be more lenient as of late, mainly because the sector under their control had been so quiet for so long that their days had mainly consisted of routine tasks and checkers.

"Anything interesting happening in the Fichina sector?"

The white canine turned to his left and met the gaze of the only other animal in the room, a red bobcat named Reese Anderson, or Private Shut-the-hell-up as the lieutenant sometimes called him. He was a nice guy though, when he wasn't talking for hours on end, and the husky was grateful for his company, figuring if anyone could keep them awake it was Reese.

"What do you think?" he responded, casting a light glance at the monitor before him.

"So...yes?"

"No."

"No?"

"Yes."

"Wait, so yes or no?"

"No."

"But you just said yes,"

"I know that, I was saying yes to you asking no."

"So no?"

"No."

"Hmm..." Reese put a paw under his chin and squinted at the husky, amused with his ability to keep his cool. "Okay!"

The husky grinned and looked back at his monitor. It was the same as it always was, showing them the outskirts of Fichina, endlessly scanning for enemy ships on the move but never showing any. The job was boring to say the least, I mean, you'd think that in the middle of an intergalactic war you would at least see a rogue fighter or something drift into view, but for the small outpost of Cornerian troops aboard the small Fichina Space Station they had yet to experience that pleasure.

So boredom was inevitable.

"What about the Sargasso section?" Reese asked, elbowing the husky in the ribs and winking.

"Christ Reese, we've been over this countless times. We aren't allowed to view that area, its not under our jurisdiction or something like that...

"We're the fucking Cornerian military! The whole Lylat system is under our jurisdiction! Wouldn't it make sense to try and cover more areas than this one I mean...

"I know what you're saying," the husky interrupted, leaning back in his seat, "But even if we wanted to look in on Sargasso our radars wont go that far."

Reese raised an eyebrow at him and cocked his head, "Oh really? And how do you know that Lan?"

He stiffened at the uttering of his name, casting Reese a cold hard stare for speaking it out loud when he, along with everyone else, clearly knew he hated it. Landser was his name. Landser Davidson, or as the lieutenant preferred to call him, Private snowball, which he rather preferred.

"Don't call me that."

Reese laughed and patted his shoulder, "Okay then, how do you know that Snowy?"

Landser sighed and, after looking around the dimly lit control room to make sure no one was around, leaned forward until he was close enough to whisper, "Because I tried once."

Reese's eyes opened in surprise as he took in the news, but almost instantly was replaced with amusement as he leaned forward and replied, "Can you keep a secret?"

Landser leaned back and shrugged, knowing what Reese was going to say. "Sure why not Private Smartass."

"So have I! And so has every other person who has ever been stuck on the godforsaken hellhole for more than ten minutes."

The two exchanged and glance and lightly laughed. It was another reason why it was fun to spend time with Reese, because he found ways to make you laugh even when something wasn't real funny.

As their chuckles faded away the sound in the room was once again ruled by the light beeps and hums of the computers around and before them. Time seemed to crawl by like a snail as they aimlessly stared at the screens before them, not really looking at them but allowing their minds to wander.

"You know," Reese said minutes later, snapping him back to reality. "There's a way to extend the perimeter of these radars so that we can actually see Sargasso."

Landser didn't look over at Reese, figuring it was just another one of his attempts at humor. Yet he figured he'd humor him.

"Oh yeah, how so?"

"You don't believe me do you?"

"Oh, no, of course I do."

"See that's sarcasm. I hear it."

"What? I'm just talking normal."

Reese grinned and leaned back in his chair, leaving only two legs on the floor, "Just hear me out. We're the only observation post that the Cornerian military has even relatively close to Sargasso right?"

"Right."

"Okay, yet we never see any movement at all, even _though _we know that right outside our perimeter lies hostile territory that is more than likely harboring Venomian forces."

"Obviously. So what's your point?"

"My point? My point is that for all we know, for all that the entire Cornerian army knows, there could be an entire empire just outside our stupid little radar's reach."

Landser cocked his head and did the figuring himself. Reese had a point, it was possible. But also highly unlikely. Sargasso was just close enough to Fichina that if any build up was being made then the outpost of Cornerian troops on the planet would notice it. Sure there was only one regiment of Cornerian troops stationed on the icy planet, but they were watching their part of the galaxy...right?

"What about the...

"Troops on Fichina?" Reese asked with raised eyebrow, "We haven't hard from them in 2 weeks. Don't you find that odd?"

"I find it odd that you are getting so nervous all of the sudden. When was your last leave?"

Reese grinned and shook his head, "Hell Landser I'm not going insane. I'm just using my common sense. And right now its telling me that something could going down right beneath our noses."

The husky rolled his eyes and turned his attention back towards the monitor before him. As much as he hated to admit it Reese was making some very valid points, the most interesting one being that the troops stationed on Fichina hadn't checked in for two weeks. That _did _cause reason for concern.

"How about this," Landser replied cocking his wrist, "We send a transmission down to the regiment on Fichina to make sure they are okay. If they are, then will you let this go and stop bugging me?"

"Sure."

"I don't want 'sure'"

"Okay okay, I promise I'll stop bugging you about Sargasso."

"All right then."

The husky pushed off against the floor and slid over to the transmitter, Reese slowly following behind with a suspenseful look in his eyes.

"You remember their code?" Landser asked, preparing to make the call.

"7-4-2-1-1-8."

"Had it memorized eh?" he asked, typing in the numbers.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now."

"Two weeks?"

Reese chuckled and waited with him as the transmission ran through, both of them, well at least Landser, expecting the familiar brown face of the acting commander to appear on the screen before them any second.

Seconds passed, which was odd for a military call. Usually they were answered with precision, instantly accepted after the first second or two, but now wasn't the case.

Thirty seconds.

1 minute.

Landser looked over at Reese whose only response was a nod out the window in the general direction of Sargasso.

"Okay maybe something is up."

"Maybe." Reese replied knowingly.

"Think I should get the lieutenant?"

"Not yet."

He heard Reese's chair slide back across the floor and turned to catch the bobcat entering commands into his computer.

"Hey what're you doing?"

"Just overriding a few barriers."

He slid over to where Reese was typing and clicking away at the computer. Obviously there was more to the cat than just his laid back, comical attitude. He was a technological wiz, and Landser remembered that he was _in fact _the ship's technical officer.

"I'm gonna skip the part where I ask all the stupid questions. Just tell me what you're trying to do."

He hit one last key before grinning and leaning back in his seat, allowing Landser to reacquaint his eyes with the all too familiar screen. But this time there was a difference, a huge difference. Now he could see an entire other sector past Fichina, something that he had only seen before on maps.

"I'm just broadening your view." he replied happily. "Now we can see Sargasso. Lets just check to make sure everything is normal there and if it is then we can assume that the problem with the guys down on Fichina was caused by something already on the planet."

Landser sighed and slid in front of the screen, dialing in on the coordinates of Sargasso until he was close enough for the computer to scan the station for any enemy armor.

"If we get in trouble for this you...

"I'll tell the lieutenant it was my idea." Reese replied, watching with anticipation as the computer ran the scan.

"That's not what I was going to say but whatever."

The scan was halfway done and the husky couldn't help but feel a growing sense of anticipation inside of him. The more he thought like Reese the more he realized that the possibility of a strong force being at Sargasso was far from impossible. Other than the unit on Fichina, who was currently unresponsive, they were the only other force that the Cornerian military had to watch over this Venomian hideout, yet they didn't even have the order to look in on it. Instead it was trusted with the forces on Fichina, who were doing god knows what right now.

75 percent.

But his other process of thought was telling him to use common sense. Other than the extremely cold and lifeless planet of Fichina what would Andross and the Venomian army have to fight for here? Gathering a force at Sargasso would be considered extremely risky as the station was a great distance from any other Venomian stronghold and could easily be taken by Cornerian forces at any time...if they weren't stretched so far across Lylat at the moment.

In fact, his military knowledge told him not to expect any more than a few fighter planes aboard the station, probably belonging to rogue fighters or maybe even StarWolf, they had been informed that the band of mercenaries had a tendency to stay at Sargasso every now and then.

Complete

"Here we go." he muttered, opening the results and listening for the computer to tell them the results.

"The performed scan on the Sargasso Space Station revealed numerous threats. Threats found include: 175 enemy aircraft, possibly Venomian issued InvaderII fighters, and a much larger threat recognized as 2 Zeram-Class Cruisers. Immediate notification is recommended."

Slowly he looked over at Reese, not sure if the cat was playing some type of prank on him or if what they had just heard was the truth in full. He half expected him to burst out laughing but unfortunately the look on his face was one of complete seriousness.

"That cant be right." Landser finally whispered, looking over the screen. "A force that large couldn't have gathered there without it being noticed."

"Who would have noticed it?"

"The troops on Fichina...oh right. But still, that's practically an army! And its so close to us, Fichina is a good as gone and so are we if they decide to move in."

The two sat there for a second, trying to get a grasp on the situation.

"I just don't believe it. Maybe the computer is malfunctioning." the husky suggested, readying to run the scan again.

"No wait," Reese said, stopping him and assuming control of the keyboard. "I have a better idea. Why not see for ourselves?"

"You can do that?"

"With the right password I can."

"How did you figure out...

"There!"

As soon as the word left his mouth the wide screen monitor above them flashed to life, showing them the Sargasso Space Station from an outside view, and unfortunately confirming the computer's scan. The entire Station was alive with moving ships, docking and leaving, all the while the two monstrous Cruisers sat on each side, their massive size and power obvious to even the most inexperienced soldier.

Now they truly sat there, the direness of the situation sinking in as they realized what had been unfolding behind their eyes for the past couple of days. Sargasso was now harboring a fleet of Venomian forces large enough to make a serious assault on Corneria. Not a big assault, but a serious one. How long they had been there was unknown, nor was their objective, the only thing the two Cornerian soldiers knew as they looked at the screen before them was that they needed to alert someone and fast.

"The computer wasn't wrong."

Landser nodded in response, unable to look away from the screen as they watched the Invaders busily enter and exit the massive space station.

"Neither were you."

"I wish I had been."

"Wanna wake the lieutenant?"

"Sure."

000

Author's Note: Well that was fun. I needed a chapter like this so desperately because, well, you'll find out but its kinda obvious. Plus I had fun typing this, I enjoyed adding a little humor. Anyways the big scene is at hand. It will be a battle of epic proportions and the outcome will thrill you all! I guess what I'm saying is it wont suck and I hope you read it and review it. Let me know what you think please. BTW I didn't get to reread this one so grammatical errors are possible. Just ignore em lol.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's note: Well this one took longer than expected, but the last of school is next Wednesday and since I'm graduating I should have a lot more free time to type. I kept this one simple and sweet, starting off on GreatFox with Fox and eventually Krys, then sending it over to the Fichina station for the final scene before everything explodes. Hope you like it::::::

000

"How much longer do they like?"

Falco took a deep breath and sighed, crossing his arms and shrugging, "Could be days, could be weeks." he replied, watching Peppy and Slippy work on the vulpine's Arwing. "It didn't look too bad from the outside but once he got under the cover Slippy found some serious damage, he's still chalking it all up."

Fox stifled a yawn and stepped forward to get a better view of his disassembled plane from the glass window in the control room. It was late in the evening, almost 7pm, three days after he had rescued Krystal from Sargasso, and still nothing had went down. In fact, going on reports from the television and from the nearest Cornerian outpost the war was almost at a standstill, with neither side sticking to their guns at the moment. But this hadn't kept the vulpine from piloting the GreatFox another 5 minutes closer to Cornerian forces.

_Just to be safe. I figured StarWolf would have tried something by now but I guess Wolf wasn't too torn up over everything that happened. And if they do make a move, even if the three of them are somehow too much for us, we'll have help only 7 or 8 minutes away; close enough that they wont try anything I'm sure. _

Little did he know that the force heading their way was so much more than just 3 pilots in their Wolfens, but that realization would have to wait. For now he was only concerned with two things; getting their Arwing's repaired, and when he would see the sapphire vixen's face again, and he couldn't help but smirk as he realized the latter was _way _more important.

The vixen was in her room, most likely changing clothes or something considering how late it was, giving the vulpine time to picture her flawless sapphire body in his mind, a sight he had woken up to only this morning.

_If only I could wake up to that for the rest of my life. _

But then he remembered the look in her eyes as she told him about her bad dream. It didn't sound too bad, just a dream that something had happened to him, but even though he wasn't a Cerenian he could tell that it had been so much worse than that. She had been in pain, and it was all he could do to keep from forcing her to tell him why. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew how to read people well enough to know that she was shaken pretty bad, no matter how well she tried to cover it.

Now she was in her room, telling him she just needed a minute to meditate, something that she had never done before.

_Probably to make sure she never has another night like the last one. This is all Panther's fault! It's over and done with but he's still hurting her. I should have just killed the bastard!_

"Fox?"

The vulpine jerked out of his thoughts and turned towards Falco. "What was that?"

"I asked you if you had told Krystal about the upcoming mission on Sector Z yet." the avian replied, continuing to look down into the hanger.

"No I haven't."

_But how can I? I have to keep her out of this one, I cant risk losing her again._

"She'll find out eventually you know."

"I know. I just...a mission this big...there will be a lot of stuff going down at once and it'll be impossible to keep an eye on any of you in the middle of it all."

The falcon smirked and turned to face him, "So what? You want her to stay behind because she cant handle her own?"

"No that isn't it." he replied tiredly, "I know she can take care of herself in combat, its just...now everything is different. After all that happened with Panther and Sargasso, I don't want to endanger her again."

He knew Falco would understand, even if he refused to acknowledge it head on. The both of them had enough combat experience to know that a battle this big, with the stakes as high as they were, would be extremely dangerous even for two pilots as veteraned as they were, much less Slippy and Krystal. The hard part was thinking of a way to tell them why they had to stay behind. Regardless of how close he and the vixen had become he knew that she would take some form of offense to his order, it was just the fighter in her, and just another part of her he loved.

_And that's why I cant let her go. I love her too much, and if something was to happen to her, if something _else _was to happen to her, I'd never forgive myself. _

"I understand," Falco replied with a nod, "This is one for the books, we need the best pilots in the galaxy on our side and, not being mean here but, Krystal and Slippy aren't good enough yet."

"Easy for you to say that, you don't have to tell her."

"I'll tell Slippy," he responded with a grin.

"Gee thanks."

The two chuckled and slowly made their way towards the door.

"Well, whatever you say to her I'm sure she'll understand. Those googly eyes you two shoot each other could melt Fichina."

He threw a punch at the bird's arm, getting a snicker of laughter in return. "Oh and like you weren't the same way when Katt was here."

His expression slipped only slightly at the mention of the feline before he hid it away and shrugged. "Me and her never really hit it off, hence no googly eyes."

"Whatever."

They had made their way to the entrance to the stairway that led to the hanger, causing the vulpine to consider his options.

"I think I'm gonna head down there and check on those two," Falco spoke up, guessing what Fox was thinking, "For all we know those two could be asleep."

The vulpine grinned and shrugged before opening the door for Falco, "I think I'm gonna check on Krys, maybe give her some googly eyes or whatever the hell it was you called it."

Falco laughed and cast a hand over his shoulder as he dissapeared around the corner of the stairway, leaving the vulpine alone on the bridge.

_Now, to think of a way to tell her she's not going on the mission with us. Oh man this cant end well, I just know she'll be mad. _

He slowly walked the rest of the way down the bridge and into the lounge, pausing for a minute to make sure she wasn't on the couch or in the kitchen before continuing on down the hall. He made his way down to her door and softly placed a paw on the handle, pressing his ear against the wall to see if he could hear her.

He turned the handle and took a step inside her room, timidly peeking around the corner to see if he could spot her.

_What am I doing? After all the stuff we've done why should I be afraid of barging in on her now?_

Shaking his head he stepped in the rest of the way and closed the door behind him, taking in the scent of his beautiful mate in deep shallow breaths. He scanned the room, instantly picking up the sound of running water coming from her bathroom. Putting one and one together he couldn't help but smirk as he pictured her amazing body underneath the running water. He quickly slipped out of his shoes and everything else until all that was left were his boxers, then padded across the floor and into the bathroom where he could see her outline behind the curtain.

"Mind if I join?" he asked from the other side, laughing as she jumped in surprise.

"Jesus, Fox don't do that!"

Her paw wrapped around the edge of the curtain and pulled it back to where her face could pop out. "You have no idea how hard that is on a Cerenian while she is meditating."

In her eyes he could spot both humor and seriousness, instantly telling his mind to make a mental note about the event. Yet he still couldn't help but smirk at his trick.

"I'm sorry Krys, It wont happen again."

"Well see to it that it wont," she replied with a serious look, "Now get in here,"

She smiled and pulled the curtain back, allowing him to yet again take in the amazing scene before him.

_Damn that never gets old. _

He slipped the boxer shorts off and stepped in beside her, instantly stiffening as he felt the freezing cold water his his back.

"Christ! You always take showers this cold?"

It was the vixen's turn to laugh as she reached around him and turned the handle back over to hot, "Now we're even."

He caught her gaze and rolled his eyes in submission, "Okay that was pretty good. But I can top it."

"Oh really? Hows that?" she asked, putting her arms around his waist and pulling him closer.

He leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers and pulling her even tighter against him, loving the feel of her naked wet body pressed up against his own as the water ran down both of them.

"_That..." _he responded contently, "Is how."

She smiled and rested her muzzle under his, relishing the feel of his muscular body and his arms around her. Right now the dream was nowhere to be found in her thoughts, right now all that she could think of was how perfect the moment was, how she wanted nothing more than to stay in the shower with Fox for the rest of her life, just so she could be in his arms. Her nightmare didn't seem possible anymore. Nothing could kill this animal before her, not Wolf, not Panther, not Andross, they would all be disposed of with such ease, especially if his strength was even a fourth of what she thought it was.

"I love you," she whispered, bringing her arms up around his neck and meeting his gaze once again.

He smirked and gave her a quick kiss, "I love you too Krys."

_Fuck it, I'm not going to tell her yet. It would ruin the moment, things are just going too well. I'll let her know later. _

The two stood there for a minute or two more before she finally sighed and shut the water off, pulling back the curtain and stepping out beside him. She stepped towards the bathroom closet to get a towel but the vulpine's hand caught her, pulling her into his arms as he stepped back into the bedroom.

"Fox!" she laughed as he grabbed her by the waist, "We're soaking wet!"

"Don't worry about it," he replied, falling down on the bed, pulling her on top of him. She turned over, now lying on top of him as the two wet foxes dripped all over her bed.

"Okay fine," she responded happily, "But your gonna take them off and dry them for me later."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"What if I don't feel like it?"

"I'll make you feel like it."

"And how will you do that?"

She leaned forward until their muzzles were only centimeters apart, "What if I refused to kiss you until you did?"

"Then I guess I'd have to kiss you first," he replied before quickly closing the gap and connecting their lips. "Besides," he added after pulling away, "You couldn't go more than 5 minutes without all of this." he finished by showcasing his body with his left hand.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well you couldn't go more than 1 min without me."

"Pfft."

She sat up on his stomach, the vulpine grinning at the naked body before him, "Start the clock then Mr. Amazing."

He chuckled and looked over at the clock on the wall which just happened to change from 7:39 to 7:40. "All right go, but just let me know if it becomes to much for you."

She raised an eyebrow at him before sliding off his stomach and standing by the bed, timidly reaching into the drawer beside him and getting out a pen.

"What you gonna do, draw a picture of me?" he asked with a smirk.

The vixen walked to the foot of the bed, causing him to lean up into a sitting position. She looked back at him, holding the pen in between two fingers for only a second before tossing it behind her.

"Oops."

_Oh god no, please don't do it..._

The naked vixen slowly turned around and, with the most extreme form of casualness, bent over and reached for the pen, taking well more time than necessary to retrieve it and stand back up. She placed the end in her mouth before turning back around to face the vulpine who was now standing at the foot of the bed as well.

"Fox...

"You win."

She let out a laugh of excitement as he grabbed her by the waist and tossed her on the bed, instantly falling on top of her.

"That wasn't even thirty seconds," she murmured after a heated kiss.

"Yeah well you cheated."

She laughed and ran her hands down his chest, "All I did was drop my pen, you were the one who gave in first."

"Mhmm," he replied, leaning down and passionately kissing her once again, "I bet I wont give in first next time." he said lovingly, placing his hand on her waist and teasingly running it down her leg, getting a satisfying shiver of excitement from the vixen.

"Wanna find out?" she asked lustfully, her paws making their way even further down his chest.

"You're on."

(Change POV: Fichina Space Station, 8pm, same night)

(Author's note: okay remember that scene with Landser and Reese where they find out about Sargasso harboring all these Venomian ships? Well that scene was supposed to be set on the same evening as the beginning of this chapter, because this piece you are fixing to read occurs right after they wake the lieutenant, so just rework that.)

"I swear, if Fichina isn't exploding I'm going to make you two clean the entire bridge with your tongues."

"Sir you need to see this."

"Mhmm."

The recently awakened sheepdog followed Landser and Reese down the hallway and back into the control room. Neither of the soldiers had wasted any time at all in alerting their commanding officer, although his attitude suggested he would have rather had them not.

"So what _IS_ the problem?" he asked, stepping into the room and making his way over to the monitor.

Reese looked over at Landser and exchanged a nod before answering, "Well, the first problem is that the unit on Fichina hasn't responded in two weeks, and we thought that maybe something had happened to them."

"You woke me up for that?"

"No sir, well, not entirely." Reese responded, "We gave them a call and after getting no answer we decided we'd, well we thought that it would be...a good idea to...

"To what? Spit it out." he muttered grumpily.

"To check in on Sargasso," Landser finished, figuring he might as well give his part of the report, even though it was the part they would probably get repercussions for.

To their surprise the Lieutenant didn't respond with anger, at least not yet. Instead he let out a sigh and placed his paw against his forehead, wishing he could go back to bed.

"Well, ignoring every rule you two broke, what the emergency?"

Landser and Reese exchanged a surprised look before the bobcat padded over to the computer and brought up the live feed on Sargasso.

"That's the emergency sir."

Both of them looked back at the Lieutenant, once again expecting an outburst from him as he took in the news, but only getting an annoyed look as he squinted at the screen.

"It's just Sargasso you morons. I thought you said this was an emergency?"

"What?" the two soldiers exclaimed, instantly looking back up at the monitor.

The Lieutenant was right, it was just Sargasso. There were no Invaders, no Venomian fighters, hell even the Zeram Cruisers, as massive as they were, were nowhere to be seen.

"Wait if they're not at Sargasso then that means...

"Zoom out!" he yelled at Reese, his heart racing as he realized an army of Venomian forces could be heading anywhere right now.

Reese plopped down in his chair and began entering commands, slowly zooming back until they were halfway as close as they had been.

"See them?"

"No, let me run a scan though, if anything out there is moving then we should get a notice."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" the Lieutenant asked, his sleepiness wearing off as his interest was peaked.

Landser took one last glance at Reese before turning to explain to the Lt. "Earlier, me and Reese checked Sargasso just to make sure everything was still okay because we hadn't heard from that outpost on Fichina for so long. But when we brought up the video feed...there were ships, hundreds and hundreds of Venomian ships. They were all over Sargasso, and there were even two Zeram-Class Cruisers! And they were all over Sargasso but now..." he muttered worriedly, turning back to the screen, "They are gone."

The lieutenant rose to his feet and stepped up until he was face to face with Landser, a look of complete seriousness on his face.

"Private, if you are trying to pull a fast one on me then I sure as hell hope you got some rabbit in you."

"I swear on my life sir, we seen it with our own eyes. Sargasso was completely filled with Andross' forces."

The two dogs stared into each others eyes, the lieutenant searching him for any slight sign of unsureness before finally nodding and stepping back.

"If what you say is true," he replied, stepping around Landser and making his way over to Reese, "Then we could have a serious offensive on our hands and we need to alert the forces back on Corneria. But I cant make such an alert simply on the word of two privates, as much as I trust you two. So Private Anderson...

"Almost done sir."

The three waited in silence as the station's computer finished its scan, all of them praying that the huge force of fighters was either falling back or had already been noticed by some other outpost, which wasn't likely.

"Scan Complete."

The two of them stepped back as Reese put the results on the larger screen above them. In a flash they were shown the massive section of space that stretched from Sargasso in both directions.

"Holy shi...

"Now do you trust us?" Reese asked glumly, looking at the screen and grimacing at the large area of red that represented their enemy.

"B-But...where are they going?"

"In their current direction, nowhere. They are heading into Cornerian controlled space but there's nothing out there to take until they reach Corneria."

The lieutenant shook his head and stepped back, "But that doesn't make sense. I mean, that's a large fighting force, but it wouldn't be even a fifth of what Andross would need to take over Corneria."

"Then he must not want Corneria." Landser spoke up, noticing something that neither of the other two had. "Reese, see that little white spec on the far right? It's just highlighted enough to catch your eye."

"Oh yeah, what is that?" he asked, leaning forward.

The lieutenant walked over to Reese's computer and bent over, once again squinting at the screen. "It's a ship, a decent sized one at that. But I don't know who is commanding it."

"You think they are what that army is going after?" Reese asked, turning to look at Landser.

The husky shrugged and looked back up at the screen. "I don't know. A force that large just to take down one ship? Seems a little extreme don't you think?"

"Jesus."

The two troops looked over at the lieutenant who had stepped back from the screen, a fearful look on his face.

"Sir?"

"That ship, I remember the Major telling me in my last briefing it would be in that area of space while on leave for the week."

"What ship sir?" Reese asked, stepping forward.

"GreatFox." he answered solemnly, "Fox McCloud's ship."

000

Author's note: sorry for the length of time it took to get this chapter up, and I'm also sorry if it seemed a little off structure at the part where Fox and Krystal spent time together, I just wanted to throw that part in there to prepare the setup for the next chapter. Anyways, I cant postpone the (2nd) climax of this story any longer, so next chapter will be epic, and to be honest I don't know how I want it to go down.


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note: Kinda short chapter, part 1 of the battle, looks like Wolf and Leon are gonna switch sides.

000

The lupine slowly ran his gaze across the top of his canopy, an almost disgusted look on his face as he took in the massive fighting force before him. McCloud wasn't supposed to go down this way. Regardless of who killed him. He brought his sights back down to the controls of his Wolfen, sneering at the huge blob of red on his radar that represented the Venomian force accompanying them.

_This is ridiculous. I don't care what Panther's sick twisted mind has told itself, this isn't something to fear, its something to laugh at. Taking a force this massive just to wipe out one little ship...we'll be the laughingstock of Lylat. _

Not to mention the fact that Wolf had always considered Fox as his own personal adversary, something that Panther had apparently stolen on his own.

But at the moment Wolf realized that there was nothing he could do about any of it. Panther had, in fact, surpassed not only himself in power, but every other general in all of Lylat, at least while he had this massive fighting force under his control. Wolf could only grit his teeth and watch in silence with Leon as the entire story continued to unfold. Now that story was nearing its climax, the force that the cat had assembled in merely 3 days only 4 minutes away from where GreatFox was floating in space.

From an innocent perspective one would easily consider GreatFox and everyone on board to be dead meat, but the lupine actually found himself hoping that McCloud had somehow anticipated this, that somehow Panther's plan wouldn't work and he would give up trying to get that blue vixen. But even that was farfetched. Panther had done his research, he had annihilated the forces on Fichina, thus cloaking all of Sargasso. No other Cornerian force was close enough to spot the huge gathering at the space station, hence surprise would easily be achieved.

And to add to his advantage McCloud hadn't taken his ship back to Cornerian lines yet, although he was close, maybe five minutes at the shortest, but judging by the number of Invader's and the 2 Cruisers that would be right in the middle of it, he knew that five minutes would be more than enough time. At first he couldn't figure out why McCloud wasn't running back to Corneria for safety, but then it hit him.

_McCloud wants Panther to attack. He wants to finish what he should have done on Sargasso. But he doesn't know that its an entire army coming his way, he only suspected us...StarWolf. _

"Hey Wolf, you got a sec?"

The lupine slipped his headset back up to his ear, "What is it Leon?"

"I don't know...I-I just don't feel right doing it this way."

_So I'm not the only one. _

"So you have a conscious after all." Wolf replied, sliding his Wolfen to the right until he was only 20 yards from Leon.

The chameleon hissed, responding with his usual dry voice, "No. I want them dead just as much as you do! Just not like this...it all seems too...wimpy."

"Wimpy eh?" Wolf responded with a chuckle, "You don't think we'll need every single one of these ships to get rid of 4 pilots who probably don't have but 2 working Arwings to fight back with?"

"Don't get smart with me O'Donnell," Leon muttered, "You know I'm right."

The grin slowly fell from Wolf's face, forming a scowl as he knew the chameleon was right, "So what if you are. Do you honestly think we can stop what's fixing to happen?"

He looked out his canopy at Leon who seemed to be biting his lip as he struggled for a reply.

"The best thing to do," Wolf went on, his voice disgusted, "Is just sit back and watch. If McCloud and his team survive, good for them, if they perish, good for Panther. Either way someone's a winner."

"We aren't." Leon retorted solemnly. "This is all for Panther, no money will be made, no territory will be gained. All that will happen is Team StarFox will be crushed like an ant and we'll look like fools for being a part of it. Even Venomian soldiers will laugh at us."

Wolf furrowed his brow, choosing his words carefully. "Once again, regardless of what you think, this thing cannot be stopped."

"Well we can try."

The lupine shot another glance out his canopy at Leon who returned his gaze with a look of complete seriousness. As cynical as the chameleon came off to be Wolf had learned that he was actually pretty sensible when he wasn't fighting against Falco. Perhaps it was that side of him that was suggesting that he and Wolf do something to try and stop, or at least slow down, this massive fighting force, at least long enough for McCloud to fall back.

_It's stupid. Anything we do would be senseless as long as we're completely surrounded by fighters. Plus the two Cruisers on each side that..._

"The cruisers."

"What?"

Wolf checked their channel, making sure that no one other than Leon could hear his voice.

"You really want to try something like this?" he asked, looking across space at the pilot.

Leon let out a sigh of regret, biting his lip as he struggled with his inner self to find the answer. It would go against every decision he had ever made, but this time there was just something that drove him the other way, something that told him this time was different.

"Well? We don't have much time."

"Fine. Let's...try to help them." he said disgustingly.

Wolf grinned and instantly began coordinating the plan in his head. It would be extremely simple considering the 'enemy' seen them as their allies.

"All right." Wolf replied, his voice completely serious now, "You know as well as I do that we cant stop this entire fleet."

"No shit."

"So here's what we'll do. You've got a nova bomb right?"

"Hehe, of course."

"Good, and so do I. The way I see it, we aren't going to be able to take out the fighters individually for two reasons; one, eventually they'll get the idea that we're the enemy as well and all of them will turn on us. Two, if Panther seen us ruining his 'perfect plan' then who knows what he'd do."

"Like I care," Leon retorted angrily, but adding, "So what _can _we do then?"

The lupine ran his plan through his mind one last time before deciding that it was their best and only choice.

"From what I know of the Zeram Class Cruisers the bridge is almost completely unprotected. A good line of star-fighter lasers could leave the entire thing dead in space, so just think of what a nova bomb would do."

He looked across at Leon who was pondering the new-found information before continuing, "If you head to the right flank I'll head to the left. Right before all hell breaks loose we'll turn on the cruisers and launch the nova bombs. If we're lucky the entire ship will go up, but even if it doesn't it should do enough damage to keep those hundreds of fighters stuck in the hanger."

"McCloud and his team just might have a chance of surviving," Leon murmured, his webbed hand resting under his chin as he too played out the battle without the massive cruisers and their troops out of the way.

"Maybe," Wolf mimicked, "But if we're going to do this we have to do it now while Panther is still at the front of the assault.Time is basically all but up."

"Well then let's go."

Without waiting for the other to respond both pilots cut away from each other, pulling up and out towards the edge of the massive fighting force where each cruiser powerfully forced its way through space. Within 60 seconds they were both a good mile ahead of each of the cruisers, waiting only for Wolf's command before pulling an about face and surprising the two monstrous ships.

_If this doesn't work McCloud wont have a snowball's chance in hell._

"Well?"

"Just a second longer."

"I can already see McCloud's ship."

"I know."

Well, he knew now.

_C'mon McCloud! Are you blind?_

A flash of orange caught his eye and he turned to his right to see the first fleet of Invaders blast off towards GreatFox.

It had begun.

"Now!"

Simultaneously the two pilots rolled over and pulled back on their controls, facing the two Cruisers. Without skipping a beat Wolf pulled up his targeting system, easily placing his crosshairs on the bridge of the massive cruiser before him.

Knowing that he could waste absolutely no time the lupine pulled the trigger, immediately feeling the all too familiar push that came with the release of the powerful bomb. He rolled to the left and cast a glance back at the ship, looking back just quick enough to watch the nova bomb sail directly into the bridge, instantly exploding in a huge fireball. Almost at the same time a large flash came from straight ahead and he looked around to see the other cruiser copying its partner.

He spotted Leon's Wolfen diving down in between the mass of Invaders, obviously trying to get out of sight before anyone could identify him. Wolf did the same, casting one last glance at the two massive cruisers as numerous explosions continued to go off along the bridges.

"Good effect on target." Leon cackled through his headset. "Now what?"

Wolf looked ahead through the hundred or so fighters that were closing in on GreatFox and realized what they had done still wouldn't be enough unless Cornerian reinforcements were already on their way. He spotted Panther's Wolfen at the head of the pack as the fleet broke off and began to encircle the ship. The cat was either too focused on the attack to have noticed the loss of the cruisers or he didn't care at this point. Either way things were fixing to go downhill for a certain vulpine and his mate, and there wasn't much more that Wolf could do, or was willing to do.

_The odds aren't nowhere near as bad for you McCloud, but if you've got a trick up your sleeve I'd be pulling it out._

000

Okay there's that first piece. TBH I'm just kinda bored of this story, it's only getting like 4 reviews a chapter and at that pace I think I'll just take my time on the rest of it unless that changes. Plus school is now out and I'm doing a lot of other stuff now since I have more free time. But I'll work on finishing this one up asap, the more reviews I get the more motivated I am to finish lol.


	20. Chapter 20

Authors Note: Every story can usually be compared to a song right? I did some thinking and searched through my iTunes library but I'm still not completely sure of my choice. If any of you readers know a song that fits this story real well please post it in a review or PM because I'd like to hear it. The same goes for any songs that you think portrays Fox and Krystal's relationship pretty well...I'd like to hear them, they kind of help me type. Ex::: Away in Silence – Creed

lol anyways, lets continue into the climax.

000

The dimly lit lounge was completely silent, the images flashing over the screen of the television muted by the vulpine as he did whatever he could to make sure his mate would stay asleep. To make sure that she would never leave his arms and they would stay on this couch forever, her body laid up against his own as he wrapped his arm around her waist, matching the rise and fall of her chest with his own.

Nothing mattered at times like this. The war, the military, StarWolf, food, water, tv...anything, they were all of zero importance to him now. All that he needed to keep breathing was the beautiful sapphire vixen before him.

He looked across the room at the tv, his mind pretending to take in the commercial that was playing but actually remembering the events that had transpired almost three hours ago. It had been amazing, the vixen and vulpine both sticking true to their bet and trying to hold out longer than the other, creating a sense of lust and passion that neither had thought possible. Afterward he had just enough strength left to carry her into the lounge and pull her down on top of him as they collapsed on the couch.

_2:14 am. Man I'm going to be dead tomorrow...but it was totally worth it._

He grinned and rested his muzzle on her shoulder, lightly running his hand up her stomach but making sure he didn't disturb her.

Though neither fox spoke it out loud it was obvious that both were still concerned with Panther. The vulpine didn't know about the cat being in Krystal's dream, but it didn't take a telepath to see that something would eventually go down. When, he didn't know. Probably the next time the team was called up for a mission. The assault on sector Z was a possibility as he could easily see StarWolf slipping into the battle to make a strike on him or his team.

_Panther will try something. I know it. Whether or not he'll have Wolf and Leon's help I don't know, but even if its those three attacking at once we should still be able to hold our own. And then maybe I can finish this once and for all. _

With that thought on his mind he allowed the sleep to take over, the last thing his conscious mind aware of being the rise and fall of his mate's chest in front of him. They could handle StarWolf, _he _could handle Panther. All that concerned him was when it would happen. Whether it was a week or a year he didn't know, but he knew that once the time came for him and the black cat to settle their differences that only one of them would return alive.

It was just a matter of waiting until Panther decided to make his move.

(Switch POV) Another one of Krystal's dreams, and yes it is kind of dark but remember what I said about Panther being insane.

The rise and fall of the vulpine's chest finally began to slow as he drifted off into sleep, telling the vixen that she was now the only conscious member on the ship. Not that she wanted to be, but she just couldn't help it. The memory of the nightmare she had endured the night before was still fresh in her mind, her efforts to talk some confidence into herself easily surpassed, and she was now struggling to stay awake, desperate to keep Panther and his actions locked away in her imagination.

_I'm so tired though, and its so late. _

She knew that it was as much her fault as anyone elses for her fatigue. The past week had been incident after incident. She hadn't eaten hardly anything before today, and had gotten only a few hours of sleep, not counting last night due to the horrific nightmare that actually ended up leaving the vixen with a few real bruises. And to add to her exhaustion she realized that basically any/all energy she might have had left was completely used up earlier that night with Fox.

_I felt like I could've ran a marathon with him then...but now...I'm so tired..._

Every time she blinked her eyes stayed closed a bit longer until eventually the television was only a light on the other side of her eyelids. Her mind touched the edge of unconsciousness and she realized that maybe the dream was a one time thing, that maybe she could get some rest and pass the nightmare off as a bad memory of the events before it. Who knew, maybe this time she would dream about what her and Fox had been doing for the past 3 hours.

Everything faded around her until even the rise and fall of the vulpine's chest against her backside was no longer noticeable. Now everything was black once again as the vixen found herself standing in the dark void of her subconscious, her dream.

For some reason curiosity gripped her heart rather than fear. This time she could move freely, she was in her own body, the vulpine she loved so dearly nowhere around. It was pitch black but she could see all around her, as if the darkness was its own form of light and she was seeing it from every direction. Slowly, from each direction objects began to appear and, at first, they were too small to recognize. But as the sapphire fox waited, continuing to look around the dark emptiness, she realized that they were fighters, Venomian invaders, and from every angle they were coming towards her, ready to destroy her.

One of them exploded in a blast of light and before she could decipher what had happened the scene changed, now she was looking down at herself, watching her clone cry out in despair as her fists beat against the vulpine's bedroom door. In the background there was thunderous explosions going off and GreatFox was shaking with every impact of what she could only guess was the same Venomian fighters she had witnessed earlier.

_Where's Fox? Why isn't he letting me help!_

As if her subconscious had heard her thoughts, which would make sense I guess, the scene once more flashed white and came back into view. Now she was out in space, watching in horror as more than a hundred or so Venomian fighter's encircled their ship and hammered away at it, slowly killing GreatFox. Looking closer she could see some type of plane or machine had latched itself onto the side of the ship and was cutting a out a good sized hole in GreatFox's hull.

Almost as soon as it had began it stopped and released its hold on the ship, leaving a decent sized hole in the doors. Without skipping a beat another, much larger, Venomian ship took its place, sliding up to the hole and running out an air sealed duct that was instantly alive with Venomian troops as they made their way into the hanger.

_Why is this happening? How is this happening! They cant fight off all of those troops, at least not without an Arwing! _

After the ship had finished unloading its supply of troops another flew in and took its place, once again docking another 15 or so heavily equipped Venomian troops. The vixen desperately looked around the now very active area of space, her heart falling as she continued to see nothing but enemy ships in every direction. To her right she could see two massive ships, cruisers maybe, and was almost convinced all hope was lost until she noticed that both of the massive ships were currently in the process of exploding.

_Does that mean help is near? Cornerian troops maybe? Someone!_

She once again frantically looked around the area of space where the completely one-sided battle continued to unfold, hoping to see any sign of reinforcements. And for a split second, as she looked to her left she thought she could see the glimmer of a fleet of ships heading their way, coming from the Cornerian line, but no sooner had she seen it did she feel a monstrous pain in her stomach as she fell forward.

Clutching her gut she opened her eyes and realized she was on the floor of the bridge of GreatFox. No longer was she trapped in Fox's room, but perhaps that would have been the better situation as she once again felt a massive force connect with her stomach as she was thrown over onto her back.

Through tear filled eyes she looked up, still clutching her stomach in pain, and with horror met her gaze with Panther's. The cat had a look of pure hate mixed with satisfaction on his face as he smirked and leaned down, grabbing the vixen by her hair and pulling her up to what was almost a standing position.

"W-why?" she gasped after he connected his fist with her gut yet again.

He laughed and threw her on the ground, standing over her with a look of pure triumph.

"I had hoped Fox could've been here for this, I really do think he would've enjoyed it."

Her heart flooded with dread as she took in the cat's words. The way he talked...was Fox even alive? Had he been killed already?

_No this cant be happening! He cant be dead! It wasn't supposed to be this way!_

_**Oh but it is. I told you this would happen didn't I? I told you that you would be mine no matter what it took, yet you still left me, and now he is dead because of it. And its all your fault. **_

_No! No! No! Fox is not dead! We're still asleep on GreatFox! You are still Sargasso, alone and a loser!_

"Oh, don't be that way," Panther muttered darkly, grabbing the shoulders of the vixen's black t-shirt and flinging her off the ground and into the wall. "You don't want to hurt my feelings do you?"

The cat's paws ran up under her shirt and forcefully pinched both of her breasts, causing her to cry out in pain. He let out a laugh of pure hate and power before squeezing even harder, throwing his body against hers and forcing her maw open before entering with his tongue.

_This cant be happening! It's all a dream! Just wake up!_

_**Oh you'll wake up soon enough, but it will be to something much more than a dream my sweet. **_

Tears ran down her face as she tried to take in everything that was happening. The ship was completely surrounded and immobile, she had no idea where any of her friends were, and Fox, the love of her life, was said to be no more. She wanted to scream in frustration, wanted to somehow wake herself up, yet Panther's forceful mouth and hands wouldn't allow it. The cat wasn't loving her, he was hating her. Every kiss he ran along her lips was accompanied with a punch to the stomach or forceful slam against the wall.

_**This time I WILL get what I want. And McCloud wont stop me. **_

_No, hes not dead! He's not dead. He's not dead._

_**And its all your fault.**_

She felt one final punch to her ribs before the cat pulled away, a smirk on his face as he leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"Wake up my sweet. Wake up to hell."

(Switch POV)

"Wake up Krystal! Wake up!"

The vulpine shook his mate with such intensity that he was afraid he would give her whiplash is he did it any further. Not knowing what was wrong with her he frantically searched his mind for a solution before finding one. He picked her up and carried her bridal style down the hall, passing Slippy and Falco as they ran up to the bridge. He opened the door to his room and ran over to his bed, gently laying her down and giving her one last shake in hopes of waking her up.

"What's going on?" he muttered, placing a paw on the side of her face.

_Everything is going wrong! There's an army right outside the ship, we cant fight back, and for some reason Krystal can't wake up. _

He took one last second to admire his sleeping beauty before turning towards his dresser, grabbing his blaster and a few other tools before heading towards the door, casting a final glance over his shoulder at the vixen before sighing and pulling the door shut behind him.

_I don't know what is going to happen, we've never been this outnumbered before. But I promise that no matter what, I will protect you. _

He pulled the door shut and began to turn towards the bridge, but his mind had one last precaution in store for his sleeping mate. Turning back towards his room he opened the door and reached his hand around the knob, turning the lock and pulling it shut once again. He jerked on the handle to make sure it was locked from the outside before pulling out his knife and shoving the tip of it in the keyhole. Once he was sure it was as far as he could work it he twisted the steel to the left until it broke off inside the lock, blocking the tumblers that allowed one to unlock the door from either side.

_I'm sorry Krystal, but if you wake up I cant risk you getting hurt. You'll be much safer in there. _

He sighed and placed his hand on the door, wishing that all of this was just a dream, wishing that they were back on the couch with nothing to worry about other than how long to drag out a kiss or how tight to hold the other. But this wasn't a dream, even though it felt like one. The vulpine turned and took off down the hallway and towards the bridge, hoping that whoever or whatever it was attacking them was something that he and Falco could handle.

_Only two working Arwings. If Peppy's report was accurate then we wont stand a chance. Even if me and Falco manage to shoot down fifty each, there will still be more._

A sick feeling settled in his stomach as he made his way onto the bridge and entered the command post. He looked out the wide glass window that showed everything beyond GreatFox's bow, instantly realizing that they were in for one hell of a fight as the scene played out before him.

He looked over at Slippy who was simply standing beside the ship's guidance computer, a look of fear and dread coating his face. He then looked over to his right where he saw Slippy, thankfully not frozen with fear, as the veteraned pilot stayed on the line with Cornerian forces, doing his best to keep calm as he requested immediate reinforcements. Finally he looked for his wing man, expecting the blue bird to be emotionless in the fear department and ready to fight off as many Venomian planes as needed.

But Falco had already left the room and was heading down to the hanger, giving the vulpine only enough time to nod at Peppy before grabbing Slippy by the arm and heading out the door and down the stairs to the hanger. He didn't know what would happen. They would do their best, they would go out there and fight as long as they could until they either died or help arrived. He would do anything it took to make sure that Krystal was safe, even if it meant dying.

_Just stay in the room, stay safe. _

In the back of his mind the vulpine knew why this was happening, he knew why an entire fleet of fighters was sent here just to take out one ship. It wasn't some tactical plan that Andross was putting into action, though he was sure that the evil general had a hand in it. No, this was Panther. He was positive. He had been piecing the signs together since Krystal's nightmare and now he knew that he had been right, though he wished he wasn't.

_I knew Panther would attack, I just didn't think it would be on a scale as huge as this. He's risking nothing now. If we cant hold them off...if he gets a hold of Krystal again..._

Anger and determination flooded his heart as he imagined the vixen being taken away from him once again by the black cat. The vulpine couldn't even begin to imagine what he would do if he lost her again. He clenched his fist and shook his head, knowing that he would need a clear head if he was to effectively fight once they were out in space.

He let go of Slippy's arm, the toad still wearing a mask of fright but finally beginning to come around as he recognized the safety of the hanger.

"We don't have long Slippy, maybe 45 seconds. Falco's Arwing is flyable but what about the other two?"

Slippy finally began to act like his old self again, finally over the shock he had received earlier, or at least hiding it beneath something else. "I worked on my Arwing all night," he said quickly, motioning for Fox to follow him across the hanger. "The only problem was the wing and I'm pretty sure its in decent flying condition as of now, so take mine."

Without skipping a beat the vulpine pulled himself up the side of the plane and threw back the canopy, desperately wishing his right arm wasn't still in a cast.

_This isn't Wolf I'm going up against though, these are just Venomian troops. Compared to Wolf they should be a piece of cake, but there's just so damn many. _

He looked across the hanger to where Falco was already strapping himself into his Arwing, the bird shooting Fox a quick nod before pulling his canopy down and firing up the Arwing's engine. The vulpine returned the nod and did the same, looking down at Slippy one last time before pulling down the canopy.

"Krystal," he said, jerking his restraint tight, "Is in my room. She's in some kind of trance or coma or something. I want you to make sure that...if worse comes to worse, you get her, Peppy, and yourself into the escape pod and head for Corneria. If we can buy just a few minutes time then you should be able to get close enough to the reinforcements that are on their way to survive."

"Fox you're talking like...

"We may not win this one Slippy." he replied solemnly, "That's why you have to promise me you'll do whatever you can to protect her."

"Fox I can't...

"That's an order Slippy."

He met the toad's gaze and held it with the utmost seriousness. He _had _to make sure Slippy did this. The vulpine knew he might not come back, a realization that he had figured out soon after taking the position of a mercenary, so he had to make sure someone else was there to protect her if he wasn't. For all he knew she might sleep through all of this, or she could already be awake. Either way he knew that with the vixen safely on board the ship he would be able to focus on the battle at hand much more easier.

_As long as she's safe, that's all that matters._

"Okay Fox. I'll take care of them." Slippy replied sadly, well aware that this could be the last time he ever spoke to his captain.

Fox nodded at the toad before pulling down the canopy, watching him run back across the hanger and up into the command post before firing up the Arwing. The odds were bad, the worst he had ever been faced with. Not only were they going up against a huge force without the help of the Cornerian army, at least for another 5 minutes or so, but to add to their disadvantage they only had two pilots to defend themselves with, one of which had a broken arm.

_Maybe if I can just find Panther and settle this with him all of this will come to an end. _

He was forced to impatiently wait as Falco positioned his Arwing over the launch pad. A distant crackle below him showed that Slippy's headset was in the floor and the vulpine placed it over his head.

"Repeat."

"They're all over the place guys! The ship is getting beaten to death, I cant send you out into that, you'll get killed!"

The vulpine readied himself to yell back at the toad but Falco beat him to it. "Slippy if you don't open those damn hanger doors then we're ALL going to get killed. And I swear, if we do I'm going to go to froggy hell and find your ass just so I can kill ya again!"

The bird finished his threat, leaving Slippy speechless and the vulpine thinking that what he was going to say was rather clean compared to what Falco had delivered.

"Slippy," the vulpine said calmly, "We've got to at least try."

The toad was on the verge of breaking down now, knowing that if he complied with their orders he could very well be sending them to their demise. But would it even make a difference? Would keeping them aboard the ship somehow stop all the blasts that were constantly slamming into GreatFox, driving it closer and closer to the point of destruction. He realized that no matter what he did the outcome would haunt him forever if even one of his friends was hurt, but the amphibian finally managed to take a deep breath and push those thoughts out of his mind.

Now wasn't the time to fall apart.

"Fine," Slippy replied, his tone almost angry as he reached forward and began to punch in the command to open the doors.

Falco shot Fox a grin before settling into his seat, ready for the fight of his life. Slowly the doors began to open, the engine in Falco's Arwing instantly building up power as it readied for launch. Almost as soon as the doors were open enough to accompany the plane's wingspan Falco shot out of the hanger, allowing Fox to quickly take his spot.

As he centered himself over the launch pad he looked out the doors, expecting the worst to be right before him. However the worst wasn't as bad as he had expected.

"I just see 10 or 15 from here," he said to Slippy, "Hows it look out there Falco?"

The avian cursed under his breath and the vulpine became even more impatient as he heard the familiar sound of the Arwing's hull getting hit, "Well Peppy was right. They're fucking everywhere. There must be 100 or more."

_Just for effect isn't it Panther?_

The vulpine finally felt the jerk of the Arwing as it was shot out of the hanger and into the busy section of space. He looked around, instantly realizing that Falco was right about the 100 plus comment. With a growl of frustration he took over the controls with his left paw, badly wishing he had two good arms now. He looked around his canopy, spotting Falco heading out to the ship's stern to meet a group of 8 or so Invaders on his own.

"Don't try to be a hero Falco." Slippy said over the headset as he watched the falcon's indicator get farther and farther away from the GreatFox.

To his surprise the avian laughed, "What the hell do you expect me to do then Slippy?" he asked, rolling over and firing a line of tracers down one of the Invaders. "If anyone ever needed to try and be a hero, its now."

Slippy sighed and stepped back, wishing he could be helping his friends rather than sit inside the ship and watch them take on an entire army.

After almost two minutes in both pilots realized that something would have to change and fast. Both were on opposite sides of the ship, enemy fighters swarming them like a nest of bees, and it had basically gotten to the point where 30 or so Invaders where chasing them down as the other 40 sat back and either watched or continued to blast away at GreatFox.

"How many you dropped Falco?" the vulpine asked, desperately pulling back on the controls in hopes of losing a few of the fighters on his tail.

"I don't know," he replied, his breathing heavy, "12 or 13. Not enough."

_He's done better than me. Of course he's got two good arms. _

The vulpine scowled at the cast on his arm before replying, "We've got to come up with a new battle plan," the vulpine answered, "Another 3 or 4 minutes of this and we'll be dead."

The fighters weren't anywhere near as accurate as Wolf, Leon, or Panther were, but they were in such large numbers that it was almost impossible for them all to fire at either of the two pilots and miss, and after only 2 minutes of dogfighting both of their Arwing's had taken more than enough damage.

"Where the fuck is the Cornerian military!"

"Slippy?" Fox inquired, once again trying a trick move to lose the closing Invaders on his six.

The toad turned to Peppy who had yet to say anything to anyone other than the voice of the General Pepper who was on the other end of the transmission. The hare looked worn out, his old age obvious to Slippy at this time in the morning, and there was a worried look on his face as he turned to answer.

The hare bit his lip and shook his head, "Five more minutes...at least."

Slippy placed his hand over the mic, "They wont make it five minutes," he replied helplessly, "Is there no way help can get here sooner?"

Peppy sighed, jumping in fear as the ship vibrated to the impact of another hit. "They are doing the best they can. Its just...at 3am its hard to get troops organized."

"Well?" Falco asked, annoyance building up inside as he felt another Invader score a hit on his Arwing.

"What do I tell them?" Slippy asked, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

"The truth." Peppy replied without emotion.

"Slippy, just tell us how much longer we've got to survive." the vulpine said calmly, squeezing on the trigger and managing to shoot down another Invader.

The frog sighed and took his hand off the mic, "ETA on Cornerian forces is five minutes, maybe longer."

_Damnit. That's too long. By then we'll be dead unless something changes. _

"Fucking Pepper and his 'elite troops.'" Falco muttered, now doing his best to weave in between the shots that exploded all around him. "So what's the plan?"

"Just stay alive long enough until reinforcements arrive." he replied, cringing as another powerful blast hit the side of his Arwing.

"Easier said that done. There's so damn many of them I'm more worried about a collision than I am getting shot down."

_Collisions...that's it! _

The vulpine's heart skipped a beat as he realized his new plan. It was so simple, yet extremely dangerous, crazy, but effective. Or at least he hoped so.

"I've got an idea Falco." he said, looking to his right and spotting the bird. "It's crazy but it just might get a few of these guys off our backs."

"I'm up for it, whatever it is."

He looked around his shoulder, this time grateful that there were still 15 or so of the Invaders clustered up behind him. _They think this is just a trap shoot because there are so many of them. Let's see if they are half as gullible as I think they are. _

"Circle around GreatFox's port and come right at me, I'll meet you in the middle."

A devious smirk crossed the bird's beak as he got the idea, "You're right, that is crazy. Just crazy enough to work."

The vulpine grinned and looked over his shoulder once more, making sure that his 6 was still hot before leaning on the thrust. He took a quick survey of the area, unfortunately still seeing fifty or so Venomian ships either waiting a few miles above them or playfully hammering away at GreatFox. Looking down at his ship he thought he could see one of the Invaders right beside it, almost as if it was going to ram the ship, but he was forced to turn away and focus on the battle at hand as another shot registered on his Arwing's side.

_Can't take much more of this. If this plan doesn't work then I don't know if we'll be able to continue. _

Falco's Arwing came soaring around the side of GreatFox, luckily still accompanied by a dozen or so Venomian fighters. The two were closing extremely fast, the Invaders doing the same, completely unaware of their intentions.

"You better not hit me." Fox muttered, relaxing his grip on the controls and readying himself.

"I'll try not to." Falco replied jokingly.

From an outward view one could see the two white and purple Arwings soaring at each other at an incredible speed, unwittingly followed by nearly 30 other planes that showed no signs of slowing down. Both pilots knew they would have to time this right. They would have to wait until the last possible second before pulling out in order to ensure that the two masses of Venomian planes collided with each other. Apparently common sense was something that the Invader pilots were lacking, either that or they were too occupied with playfully shooting at the two pilots in front of them to notice the upcoming disaster.

Regardless, it was going to go down in less than a second.

"Now!"

The two pilots cut the controls to the right as sharply as they could, the vulpine praying that he didn't collide with the avian's plane. He held his breath as Falco's Arwing shot by his, the heat from his engine seething through the canopy. It was way closer than he had wanted, but they didn't collide and that was all he needed. He pushed forward on the controls and dived as fast as he could, knowing that if their plan went the way he had hoped there should be some pretty big explosions going off right then and there.

He rolled to the right and fell from the line he had been in, circling out and coming back up around to get a level view. Looking ahead he noticed Falco's Arwing, this time nothing behind either of them, then he shot his gaze up to where they had met, an all too joyful sight playing out before him.

Both squadrons of invaders tried to mimic the two pilots by diving down and out of the stretch but they were nowhere near prepared for the oncoming planes. Immediately they began colliding with each other, explosions going off everywhere as the Invaders failed to avoid their own allies. Fox threw a fist in the air, the tide of the battle now beginning to turn as the Venomian's fighting force was almost halved.

"I cant believe that worked!" Falco yelled, half laughing,

"Yeah well, we aren't done yet. I'm sure their friends saw everything and wont make the same mistake."

"Right."

The vulpine looked around the section of space where the other waiting Venomian fighters had been watching, expecting them to be heading their way, wanting to avenge their comrades. He was wrong.

"Where the hell are the rest of them?" he muttered half to himself and half to Falco.

He looked over his shoulder, half expecting them to be behind him, yet once again his guess was wrong. _They were all up there, fifty or so planes. How could they all just vanish?_

"Oh hell," Falco whispered, causing the vulpine to look his way. "I found them."

"Where?"

In the middle of their plan, as both pilots flew out into space and tricked the Invaders into crashing into each other, neither one of them noticed the fleet of Venomian planes surrounding GreatFox. They were miles above the vulpine's flagship, completely unaware of what was taking place below...,...until now.

"All over GreatFox," Falco replied, his voice worried, "They're inside."

Fox froze, instantly picturing the ship full of Venomian soldiers. Peppy and Slippy fighting them off from the hanger, being completely outmanned and outgunned, would probably get killed. But as cold and heartless as it may sound, he could care less about either of the pilots at the moment. The only one he cared about was the sapphire vixen that was trapped in his room, and he had to get to her.

"Falco, I've...

"I know." he replied, "Just go. I'll do what I can out here. It cant be long until Pepper's forces arrive."

_Which means whatever these guys are here to do are going to do it quick. _

He looked down at the ship, anger and hate seething from him as he watched dozens of troops force their way into his ship, their only intentions being to kill his friends. He rolled out of his path and turned towards the ship, instantly noticing something he hadn't seen yet, something that struck fear and rage into heart on such a level that he almost found it hard to breathe.

Panther's Wolfen.

000

Author's Note: Was this a good chapter? I was too tired to review it so I'm sure there are grammatical errors. I have a tendency to type a sentence and leave a word right in the middle out, just cause, in my head, I've already got it down lol. Anyways, I typed on this chapter every few hours so every time I would get into the groove of things, like get a good vibe going, I'd get pulled away and have to start fresh. So forgive me if its not that well written.

Don't forget to let me know the names of any songs that you think are good for Fox/Krystal. I actually heard a song called: I just cant love you back – Easton Corbin. Its country (meh, not really into it) so the fact that I'm mentioning it means it really strikes me as impressive. I'd check it out, its modern country and the lyrics are 'perfect' I mean 'perfect' for when Krystal leaves StarFox and Fox is heartbroken. (Just listen till the 50 sec mark)

Ok, enough advertising, I'll work on the next chapter and hopefully have it up soon.


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note: Middle of the fight, Krystal's POV. I wrote on this one every few days, not sure if its what I want but here it is. Read my note at the end and let me know what you all want.

000

Tears of helplessness streamed down the sapphire vixen's face as she sat on her knees in front of the bedroom door. Her body was exhausted both physically and mentally from not only the last few day's events, but also the numerous beatings she had received from the hands of Panther in her subconscious. Beatings that turned out to inflict injuries that were all too real. Now, as she realized that her dreams had become reality, she could only cry in despair as she imagined what the vulpine was going through.

_This is all my fault! All of this is over me! Fox will die, my friends will die, all because of me!_

She no longer knew what to think, her mind had been completely subjected to Panther's torment and the black cat had talked guilt and fear into her heart. She _was _convinced that it was all her fault. All the proof she had needed was to wake up to something that she had already seen, something that she had already known was going to happen.

"Now he's out there," she whispered sadly, holding her knees to her chest, "Fighting for his life."

She shook her head, knowing that wasn't true. The vulpine wasn't fighting them off, he was just buying time, doing what he could hoping that before he died he could kill enough of them to give her a chance of surviving. Panther had been right. This was all her fault. If Fox died his blood would be on her hands, along with her friends.

_No! This cant be happening! Everything was perfect! We were all happy! The ships were getting repaired, we were going to head back to Corneria. I was in his arms...everything was right! Everyone was happy. Everyone was...alive. _

Her thoughts were hardly rational anymore as she allowed the panic and exhaustion to take over. Everything felt like a dream, and rightfully so, as her dreams appeared to become reality the second she woke. Her mind was blurred, much like her tear filled eyes as she desperately tried to think of some way to fix all of this, some way to turn back the hands of time until she was back in the hanger, right before she spilled her coke on the floor and started this horrific chain of events. 

But that was fantasy and now she could do nothing but accept the cold hard truth. There was only one way to end this. All of the pain and suffering, it was over her. Now the cards were on the table and it was obvious who had the better hand. She was forced to accept the truth, realizing with a sick thought that the only way any of her friends, the only way Fox would ever have a chance of surviving, would be if she gave the dealer what he wanted.

If she gave herself to Panther.

She leaned her head against the door and looked up at the ceiling, allowing the tears to run down her face as she took in the room around her. It was where he had spent most of his life and she loved the scent that covered the walls and rose from the floor. She imagined his loving figure walking from the bathroom and over to her, kneeling down and telling her that everything was okay before taking her hand and pulling her close. She imagined the feel of his torso against her as she held onto him for dear life, knowing that inside his arms she would be safe no matter what.

But none of that was real, and probably would never be again. The way she saw it two things could, and eventually would, go down. She would either find Panther before Fox was killed and promise to do anything he wanted without question in exchange for the vulpine's life...or Fox would be killed before she could get that far, along with the rest of the crew, and Panther would eventually find her locked in this room, where she was sure he'd rape her. Either way she knew she would lose, but if somehow she could keep the vulpine alive, if she could just know that he was alive and breathing, even if she was under Panther's control, then it would be worth it.

As long as Fox was still alive.

Shakily she rose to her feet, exhaustion mixed with the bruises that Panther had left on her torso almost too much to handle as she stood up and faced the door.

_Just don't let him die...please...not for me. Just give me a few more minutes. _

The realization of what would happen to her once she was within Panther's grasp didn't slow her down. Once again she placed her paw on the door handle, doing her best to focus on the jammed lock rather than her dark future. It took every ounce of Cerenian mind power that she had, almost causing her to pass out as she did, but finally the vixen forced the lock on the door to bend the tip of Fox's knife out of the way.

"I know you did it out of love." she mumbled sadly, picking up the end of the knife and sticking it in the pocket of her jogging pants. "But now its my turn."

The ship shook with the impact of endless blasts from the Venomian ships, leaving the vixen to wonder if anyone excluding herself was still alive. She shook her head, it didn't matter. Regardless of who was still dead or alive she would eventually be taken, she was after all the cause for all of this. Where there should have been a sense of fear the vixen only felt hope, not caring about Panther or the hordes of Venomian troops that she knew was on board the ship. All she wanted to do was stop this, all she wanted was for him to live.

Though her mind was fuzzy and her body completely drained of its energy the vixen knew where she had to go; her nightmare still carved into the fabric of her mind as she remembered Panther abusing her on the ship's bridge. Another heavy blast rocked the ship and she couldn't help but stagger into the wall, catching herself on the side of the couch as she entered the lounge. For a brief second she reminisced the night before, lying here with him with not a care in the world.

_I've got to save him. I cant let him die because of me. _

Her love gave her strength and she was soon down the second hallway and at the doorway to the command room. Her heart was split into two different pieces now, the scared, mournful half that longed for the vulpine's strong arms...and the determined, somewhat angry half that was tired of being the cause of all this pain. Now she just wanted to end this, it didn't matter what happened to her. But if her friends were hurt, if they died...if Fox died...

She reached for the handle but no sooner had she gotten her hand out did the door fly open, a hectic looking Slippy almost knocking her to the ground.

"Krystal! You're awake!"

She opened her mouth to respond, fighting for the right words to say, but before either of them could speak up Peppy's worried voice came from the room.

"Don't just stand there!" he yelled, worriedly looking down into the hanger, "Get to the escape pod! It's the only chance you'll have."

Slippy regretfully nodded before grabbing the vixen's hand and taking off down the hallway, instantly being yanked back as she held her ground.

"Krystal c'mon! We have to go now!"

She took a shaky breath and shook her head, "No Slippy. I'm tired of running and hiding. This is all because of me and I'm going to put a stop to it."

A shocked expression from the toad was ignored as she turned back and continued into the control room, getting a surprised look from Peppy as he held turned away from the distress transmission he had been working on.

"Krystal get out of here! There is nothing we can do to help them by staying. If you two make it to the escape pod in time then you might have a chance."

She reached forward and grabbed Peppy by the shoulders, yanking him up into a standing position, her anger getting the better half of her heart for now. "Then get going," she muttered, "I'm staying here. I'm what Panther wants, not you, not Slippy, not Falco or even Fox!" she finished, her voice almost at a yell.

"I'm the one he wants! I'm the reason all of this," she yelled, opening her arms around her, "is happening! Its my fault that Fox's arm is broke, its my fault that we only have 2 working Arwings, its my fault that the ship is fixing to explode, and its my fault that he's out there getting killed!"

The shock on the hare's face only drove the vixen's determination further as she added, "I will not run away this time." she said sternly. "I'll give Panther what he wants if that is what it will take to stop all of this. I'm tired of being selfish, I'm tired of everyone else taking my bullets."

"Krystal you...

"Now go with Slippy and get to the escape pod. You know as well as I do that there's no point in either of you staying. You'll only get killed because you're in his way." The old rabbit still had a look of unsureness on his face, causing the vixen to add, "He wont kill me. I'm what he wants. Don't worry about my life, worry about your own."

She pulled the hare to the doorway and pushed him out, almost allowing a smile to cross her lips as she noticed the shocked look on the two pilot's faces.

"But Fox said...

"I know what he said." she interrupted Slippy, her voice now calm, "But that's just him looking out for me. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Peppy took an unsure glance around the ship before finally nodding and looking over at Slippy. "She's right Slippy. Valor is valor, but it can also be stupidity in a situation like this." he turned towards her now, "I don't know what will happen, perhaps we'll all make it through this somehow. But if not, I just want you to know that you're one of the greatest fighter's I've ever known, and an even greater friend."

Slippy nodded, the both of them stepping forward and wrapping their arms around her for a brief hug before stepping back and turning towards the lounge. As they left her line of view the outside events began to come back to her and the warm loving feeling that had made its way into her heart was now replaced with fear and determination. Fox was still out there, Falco as well. Who knew how either one was fairing.

_I've got to end this now. Just find Panther, promise him you'll do whatever he wants if he'll just call off the attack. _

She knew that if the cat was anywhere near as 'loving' in real life as he had been in her dreams then she was in for a never ending life of torment. The fact that Caroso had went through all of this, that he had worked this hard to have the vixen only assured her even more that he was insane. Such a lust for another ones body was unreal of and she couldn't begin to imagine what he would do to her once he had her. But that didn't matter anymore. Whether she was tortured or killed was irrelevant as long as she could protect him, as long as she could keep Fox alive.

_If he dies because of me..._

The vixen had no idea what she would do if that happened. Going throughout the rest of her life, under Panther's reign or not, knowing that she would never be held in his arms again was something that drove her to thoughts of suicide right then and there. Without him she had no reason to live. She had no family or friends, at least any close enough to her to give her a reason to live. She would have no purpose in life if the vulpine was dead.

_If I can just stop this, just give Panther what he wants..._

The sense of hopelessness that she had been harboring earlier had faded, replaced with both determination and fear. The numerous bruises along the sides of her body were ignored, along with the screaming voices in her mind that said her exhausted body couldn't keep this up. Panther had left his mark on her in the dream but the vixen pushed through the pain, her body finding strength she had never known she had simply from thinking of the vulpine she so desperately loved.

She was at the other end of the control room now, standing in front of the door that would open up to the bridge. Looking to her left out the window down into the hanger she felt the knot tighten in her stomach as dozens of Venomian troops continued to make their way inside. They were almost casual with the way they explored the hanger, knowing that the only threats to them were currently outside in Arwings, outmanned and outnumbered.

_I've got to stop this. Every second I wait is another second he could be killed._

She placed her hand on the panel switch to open the door, pausing for only a brief second and allowing her mind to wander ahead into the bridge. She expected Panther's sinister thoughts to explode into her mind at any second, her dream telling her that she would confront him on the other side of this door. Yet her thoughts came back empty, whether it was because her mind was fatigued or there honestly wasn't anyone on the other side she didn't know. But regardless, enough time had been wasted, she _wanted _to find Panther.

Her paw pressed down on the switch and the door slid open, revealing a site that she had seen all too often. She sighed and stepped forward, actually feeling disheartened that Panther hadn't been standing there waiting for her. It wasn't a matter of fear now. It was a matter of time. The truth had already sunk in, she knew what was going to happen. The only thing the vixen could do now was alter the line of events enough to keep the one she loved alive.

She stepped forward, making her way across the bridge until she was at the halfway mark. For a second she stood there, staring at the other end, praying that someone would through the door and grab her. In fact, part of her wanted to go down into the hanger and give herself up to the first Venomian soldier she saw, but it couldn't go down that way. It had to be Panther. She had to find him first.

_It all happened here on the bridge. Everything else has come true, so why not this? Where is he? I don't care what happens, I just want this to stop!_

"Where are you!"

No sooner had the desperate cry exited her mouth did the vixen feel an arm wrap around her neck and pull her backwards, a powerful body pushing itself against her own as another arm made its way down up her shirt.

"Right here,"

000

Author's Note: Hey sorry this one was kinda short, I've not been able to write much as of late because of work but I kept this part of my story in my mind constantly so when I finally sat down to put all of it together it was a piece of cake. I kinda got the feeling that I mixed up emotions here with Krystal, like I flipped a switch on her or something, and if so I apologize.

Anyways, with the way I've portrayed Panther in this story I realize that I can do 1 of 2 things. Allow him to win, allow him to get what he wants and write a chapter going that way. OR I could go the other way and have the good guys win. OR I could do both. TBH I could get pretty dark with this story based on the way things are going, but to some people that would ruin it. So maybe an alternate ending for you darker readers? Lemme know what you think.


	22. Chapter 22

NOTE: 6/17/11

12:15am cst

hey this isn't an update, well, not a chapter update. I just noticed one huge grammatical mistake earlier and I just had to fix it. I couldn't stand the thought of it being in the story on the internet where everyone could see it. Sorry for the confusion, next chapter will be up in a few days:

000

Author's note: Well here's the next cliffhanger, er I mean chapter. Its not very long but its not very short either. I tried to answer some questions here and set everything up for the big confrontation that you're all waiting for. Anyways, I hope you like it, if not...sorry lol.

000

The fighting around him seemed to come to a halt as the vulpine's Arwing made a beeline for the ship. The second he had seen Panther's Wolfen dock with GreatFox everything had changed, realizing that the vixen he so dearly loved was aboard the same ship as the black cat was driving him mad with hate and protectiveness.

He had left Falco to fend for himself, knowing that the battle was now centered mostly inside GreatFox as the Venomian troops stormed aboard. One by one the Invaders docked with the larger Venomian ship that was attached to GreatFox, their power increasing every second as another soldier entered his flagship from the side.

_Inside the ship, outside the ship! There's so fucking many of them!_

Helpless rage ran through his body and the vulpine wished so desperately that Panther was in front of him so he could break his neck and end it all. But that wouldn't happen, not unless he managed to dock his own ship and fight his way through the hanger and back to his room where Krystal was hopefully still safely locked away. He knew that if he could find the vixen then Panther would find him, and he wanted nothing more than a chance to fight the cat once again, only this time he wouldn't leave anything to chance. This time he would kill Panther Caroso.

But first he had to get back aboard the ship.

It was almost like an assembly line maneuver that the Venomian's had going as they would attach themselves to the larger Venomian ships, almost like miniature cruisers, which would in turn take their place alongside the sealed off port that they had made, allowing the ship-full of troops to storm into GreatFox.

_Then I'll do the exact same thing._

Without thinking it out he made for the nearest Venomian carrier, instantly followed by Invader fighters that had been watching from above. Gritting his teeth the vulpine was forced to roll out of his dive and do his best to outmaneuver the fighters, frustration gnawing at his stomach as he knew that every second he wasted out here was another second Krystal could be captured. He did his best to outrun the fighters, managing to lose almost all of them for a few seconds before more came down and took their place.

_I don't have time for this! I need to get back on the ship!_

A bright orange flash lit up the front of his canopy, an all too familiar sight that told him a plane had exploded behind him.

"Thanks Falco,"

"For what? I'm way over here doing my best to stay in one piece."

"So you didn't...

A second, then third orange explosion went off behind him, causing the vulpine to turn his head in an attempt to find his new found allies. The site that greeted him was one that he had not expected.

"I knew you were pathetic pup." Wolf's solemn growl came over his headset, "Here we are saving your ass again."

"Yeah," Leon added, shooting down another Invader, "But don't get any idea's about us wanting to be friends."

"Like we'd want to be associated with you losers," Falco replied, cocky yet grateful for the help as Leon fell in behind him and shot down yet another invader.

_Wolf? But I thought this was StarWolf's plan..._

He looked at his 6 once more and realized that the squadron of Invader's that had been on him had broken apart and scattered in fear as their numbers were halved. And while that may have been the case he realized, sadly, that there were still plenty of more Invader fighters surrounding the ship. But now they had help. Now, they might have a chance.

"Regardless," Fox muttered, ignoring Wolf's comment, "We need the help."

"I don't know why you aren't helping Panther," the vulpine continued, "But I don't care. As long as you can help Falco fight off the Invader's long enough for me to get in the ship I'll be content."

"Gotta save the girl again eh McCloud?" Wolf asked with a coy laugh.

The vulpine ignored the burning on his ears, instead focusing on the next Venomian ship that was preparing to dock with GreatFox. On the end there was one spot left for a fighter to latch on and board. If he could manage to get there in one piece and get attached, there was an even better chance that he would get back aboard the ship.

"Look, can you just help hold them off for a few minutes?" he asked, casting an anxious glance back at Wolf.

"Sure why not," he shrugged, his voice calm as he added, "But when all of this is said and done, if your even alive then, I want to take you on again. Mono e mono. No help from anyone. Not Leon, not Falco, not Slippy, not Panther."

"Oh you can bet Panther wont be there," the vulpine replied darkly.

Wolf merely chuckled before pulling out and heading towards the nearest group of Invaders. "C'mon Leon, lets give McCloud a distraction. Maybe he wont get himself killed."

The chameleon mimicked the lupine's chuckle with one of his own, a sinister hiss hanging on the end of it as he followed Wolf across space towards a large group of fighters above Great Fox.

_No time to try and figure out why they are helping us. Maybe its a trap, maybe its just part of Panther's plan, I don't know. What I DO know is that I cant waste any more time, regardless of whose on my side or not. I've got to get in there now!_

And with that thought he took off across space, flying through the wreckage of numerous destroyed Invader fighters before finally getting within a mile or two of the same carrier ship as before. The spot was still open and the ship was nearing the port to dock with GreatFox, now only 40 or so seconds away from latching onto the airtight entrance and allowing the troops to storm aboard his ship. He figured that it was either a lack of coordination or simply a mistake that there was still one extra space for a fighter to dock with, but regardless of the reason he knew it would be his only chance and he would have to take it.

Fortunately the arrival of Wolf and Leon had more than gotten the attention of the remaining Venomian fighters causing them to pull away from GreatFox and confront their newest challengers. That left only the larger ships that were docking troops ahead of him. In other words, no resistance...at least in space. He was right on the ship now, the last available port for his Arwing at the end of the line. It wouldn't be easy to dock his Arwing, mainly because he wasn't sure if the Venomian ship was built to accustom its different design. But the vulpine had come too far to get stopped because of a simple design flaw or lack of piloting skill because in that department he could do just about anything, even with a broken arm.

About the time he reached GreatFox the carrier had latched itself onto the side, its retractable air sealed walkway attached to the side of the hanger. Knowing time was limited he dove below his ship, coming up on the open side of the carrier before turning his Arwing around and lining up his sight with the empty port. With the skill that he had perfected after all his years of flying the vulpine gently, yet quickly thrusted his Arwing forward until he was right beneath the open square.

He began to thrust upward, fitting the plane into the small garage like container, hoping that it would fit. The sound of metal hitting metal caught his attention and he turned to see the right side of his Arwing sliding against the ship. He looked back to his left, instantly realizing that he had no room left to negotiate with. Gritting his teeth the vulpine gave one more large thrust upward, getting a satisfied lurch out of this plane as it somehow managed to jump up another 3 or 4 yards.

Apparently it had been enough. He looked below him and thankfully saw the doors closing themselves, the cold vacuum of space now sealed off from the ship. He tossed the canopy open and wasted no time in jumping out and throwing open the door, a very surprised Venomian iguana meeting the hellbent Fox on his way in. For a brief second he tried to fire his blaster at the vulpine, but his attempt was pathetic at best as the fox knocked the gun to the ground, his left fist connecting with his face before the weapon sounded on the floor.

He picked up the blaster, realizing that he'd have to shoot left handed in this situation, but knowing that he could still hold his own.

_I'm coming Panther. Just you wait._

The vulpine jogged down the hallway and soon found himself in the command post of the small carrier, the air sealed port into his ship easily visible across the room. He looked around, spotting only three troops on board, the rest probably already inside, and for a second he contemplated ignoring them and simply running on. But an all too familiar shape caught his eye beside one of the ammo lockers next to the entrance. Taking one last glance back at the 3 troops, who were still unaware of the vulpine's presence, he took off towards the sealed walkway.

(Author's note: upcoming weapons are obviously out of date for this time, but you know what they are so I'll use them)

As he reached the exit he ran his casted right arm through the straps on a black depot bag, instantly reaching inside and pulling out a satchel grenade. (its like a grenade only with C-4 so its way stronger.) Taking a final glace back towards the three troops, somehow _still _unaware of his presence, he pulled the pin and tossed it over his shoulder before quickly dashing through the sealed walkway and into GreatFox.

He heard the explosion go off behind him and turned with a satisfied smirk to watch the carrier unlatch itself from his ship and instantly fall away from the battle. Unfortunately he wasn't the only one who had heard it, as he turned and was face to face with another Venomian lizard, only this one wasn't as surprised as his comrade had been. The vulpine barely got his head down in time as the soldier attempted to melee him with the butt of his blaster. Also unfortunately, for the Venomian soldier anyways, Fox was in no mood for fighting a common foot soldier while his vixen was still somewhere alone and in danger on this ship.

With speed that was impossible to mimic the vulpine span around, his right leg knocking the lizard to the floor with a heavy thud. Without hesitation he pulled out his blaster and fired, not bothering to check and see if he had killed him or not. Instead he took a more widespread tactic into play, reaching into the bag and pulling out the satchel grenades, tossing them into the clusters of troops that seemed to be standing around waiting.

_Of course they are waiting. The ship's secured, all they have to do now is wait for Panther to get what he wants!_

The grenades turned out to be more than effective, the fact that the troops had been clustered up didn't hurt either, and by the time he had tossed the last of them he guessed there was at least 30 or so dead or wounded Venomian soldiers on the floor, all of which had no idea what had hit them. But by that time they had finally began to gather their wits about them and fire back, forcing the vulpine to take cover behind his own immobile Arwing as blaster fire went off all around him.

"At least they apparently have no idea where I am." he muttered, watching as the nervous troops fired blindly across the hanger.

Taking a deep breath the vulpine took off across the floor, doing his best to stay crouched as he hugged the wall and made his way to the back stairway of the hanger. Had he had two good arms he would've been firing away as he sidestepped across the dead and/or injured bodies of the Venomian soldiers on the floor. Instead he was left cradling the blaster in his left arm as he ducked to avoid a line of shots from his side. Fortunately he had made it most of the way there during his run, unfortunately he had managed to grab the attention of nearly every soldier still standing.

Shots connected all around him as he hid behind an upturned work table that Slippy had his supplies stationed in. He peaked around the corner and fired a few answering shots before jumping back as a barrage of blasts instantly switched over to him.

_I cant sit here all night! I've got to get to Krystal before its too late. _

In the back of his mind he knew that, unless the vixen had escaped with Slippy, she was probably either hiding somewhere on the ship or already in Panther's grasp, a thought that sparked a menacing growl in the back of his throat. The direness of the situation forced his mind to think of a solution, telling him that if he truly loved Krystal then he would find a way to get to her rather than sit here behind a table.

Looking around him he spotted Slippy's welding equipment on the floor, most likely knocked off the table. He reached forward and snatched the small mobile propane lighter that was in the kit, turning the butane switch wide open and igniting the flame. If he couldn't take them out then maybe he could just distract them, if only for a brief second. The depot bag that the grenades had been in was still wrapped around his arm and the vulpine slid it off, holding it over the butane until it caught fire.

_Just throw it one way and run the other. _

The bag burned a lot quicker than he thought it would, causing the vulpine to take one last quick look over the table before throwing it high into the air to his left, immediately taking off towards the exit. As he had hoped the troops attention was easily grabbed by the ball of fire as it flew through the air, endless amounts of blaster fire instantly focusing on it rather than him as he ran out into the open. It was only 10 or so yards to the stairway and the vulpine was confident he would make it but, either a Venomian soldier with an excellent shot saw him at the last second or it was a simply a ricochet, just as he stepped into the doorway he felt the searing pain of a shot entering his thigh.

His body hit the stairs instantly, his left leg now almost as important as his right arm as the blood began to spill out across his pants. Gritting his teeth the vulpine dropped the blaster and held his left hand over the wound, stumbling up the rest of the stairs and closing the door behind him, praying that this part of the ship wasn't as occupied by the Venomian troops. After looking both ways and seeing that the hallway was unoccupied he allowed his weary body to hit the floor, his blood soaked left hand now tearing at the white tank top he had on until he had a strip of cloth long enough to tie around his wound.

_Great. Now even if I find Panther in time will I even be able to fight back?_

A moan of pain escaped him as he pulled tight on the field dressing, his limited knowledge of his own anatomy assuring him that nothing important was hit and that the only thing that would be affected was...basically everything from walking to fighting. With the wound covered he leaned forward and tried to stand up, realizing now how truly tired he was. It wasn't just the leg wound or the broken arm, it was the Sargasso mission and the sleepless nights with Krystal by his side, holding the vixen and cherishing just being next to her. It had seemed innocent then, but now he realized that his body was extremely fatigued and that even someone as unskilled in fighting hand to hand as Slippy could stand a chance of defeating him.

Letting out a shaky cough he managed to finally pull himself, his body feeling somewhat cold as he shivered and struggled to see straight as the blood rushed to his head.

_Don't go into shock now for Christ's sake, not when she needs you most. _

He shook his head and looked down the hall, knowing that on the other side of the lounge was the bridge and then their rooms. If Krystal was still in his room then he would have nothing to worry about. As long as he knew she was alive and breathing, as long as he could hold her in his arms once more he knew that he could find all the strength that he needed to fight off everyone and everything before them.

Reaching behind him he pulled out his own blaster, getting one last idea before continuing. He slipped back the butt of the weapon and pulled out his extra knife, flicking it open and placing it at the top of his right arm. With one quick slash down his arm the cast broke in half and fell to the floor revealing his matted brown fur for the first time in a week.

"It hasn't been 3 weeks doc, but I cant wait that long."

He took off down the hall and towards the lounge, his eye catching on a broken mirror that had been knocked down the side of the wall. For a second he looked at himself and once again the questions flooded his mind. How could _she _love _him? _What did she see in him? What did she see in the ragged, blood covered vulpine before him? His white tank top was ripped down the right side and his left pants leg was torn in several places, much like the right. If anything he looked like he belonged on the streets, at least in his eyes.

But whatever the reason, she _did_ love him, and he was forever grateful for it, and he would do anything it took to protect her. The wound in his leg, the fractured right arm, not even they could stop him from fighting for her. She was his, no matter what anyone said. And if Panther was going to try and prove him otherwise then he had another thing coming.

He turned away from the mirror and continued down the hall, foreboding the inevitable meeting between him and the black cat.

_This is my destiny. Saving her, keeping her alive and by my side forever. Lylat doesn't matter, Andross or Corneria doesn't matter. All that matters is her. _

And killing Panther.

000

First off, that paragraph 5 lines above this was meant to describe how Fox looked, kind of ragged but heroic, so just imagine that.

Author's Note: So...tired...of...typing! Its so much easier to imagine this story in my head, but when it comes to sitting down and typing it I fall apart. This chapter had some action in it, and it answered a few questions about StarWolf and what all was going to happen. Needless to say the next chapter will be big. I'll prolly start off in Krystal's POV again, then either switch to Fox or just start a new chapter with him. Either way I hope this was a decent chapter and that you all like it. I hope it didn't seem to rushed.

TBH I'll be so glad when this thing is done!


	23. Chapter 23

Author's Note: Man, story is getting intense. I've got people on both sides telling me how they want it to play out and I'm not sure what to do. Maybe I'll just have them kill each other. Lmao. In all truthfulness I think that I am going to have an alternate ending to this story that, the people who want to, can read in addition to the original ending. I've been talking to 4 people about it and one of them has volunteered to help me write the alternate ending because, well, lets be frank, its going to be kinda dark and sadistic. Panther winning = O_o

But first we must see how the original plot plays out:

Remember, Krystal doesn't know if Fox is alive or not and in this chapter I made her feel...very...hopeless. Yeah that's the word. She kinda just gives up.

000

The vixen's paws desperately pulled on the powerful arm that was wrapped around her throat, her mind now growing dark as her lungs screamed for air. She was seconds away from blacking out, something that she knew she couldn't allow, not now, not with so much on the line.

_I've got to tell him to stop this! I've got to save Fox...but I need...air!_

A choking gasp escaped her throat as Panther pulled even tighter on her, a chuckle of satisfaction rumbling from him as he finally had her in his arms once more. He had no intention of killing her, yet. But there was something inside him that had swore if he could get his arms around her again he would make her remember it, he would teach the vixen to obey him no matter what it took. After he was through with her, she wouldn't want to be rescued simply out of fear of what he'd do to her for trying to escape.

This time he wouldn't lose.

Her claws had dug into his arm, pulling with all the strength she could muster as she struggled for air, of course she was nowhere near strong enough to stop him now and he merely grinned in satisfaction. As he felt the claws loosen their grip on him he knew that the fight had left her, that she was now incapable of resisting. In one swift motion he released his grasp, the vixen instantly falling to the floor and holding her throat as she struggled to breathe.

He looked down at her and smirked, savoring the fear in her eyes as she looked up at him. The marks she had left in his arm had been deep enough to draw blood and he felt it running down his arm and dripping into the floor. Allowing the sick and twisted personality that was now controlling him to continue, he reached down and grabbed the vixen by the front of her shirt, easily yanking her up to her feet before slamming her against the wall.

He enjoyed, no loved this feeling. Before he had just wanted to have the vixen for her virginity, but now, after what McCloud had done he realized that there was so much more that she deserved. That both of them deserved. An never ending stream of hate and lust controlled him now, and he would be forever grateful for it. He had become stronger because of it, in more ways than one. Nothing would stop him this time, not before he was dead.

She let out a cry of pain as her back hit the wall, only fueling the insatiable fire that raged inside him. That was what he had longed for. He _wanted _to hurt her, love was out of the equation now. Whatever he had to do to make her feel the pain he had felt, regardless of how long it took, he would do it.

"Whats wrong?" he asked, faking sincerity, "You act like your surprised to see me,"

The look in her eyes was one of fear and determination, causing the cat to grin as he realized what she had been planning to say.

"Please...

"No!"

He yelled back at her, not wanting to hear her plea for the vulpine. It wouldn't make a difference anyway! Whether he called the attack off or continued the vulpine would be dead. _He _was in complete control now. _He _was in no position to hear a bargain, and he wasn't about to.

"I know what you're going to say," he whispered in her ear, "But what could you possible have to offer me? What could possibly be worth having other than the knowledge that Fox McCloud is dead?"

"I'll do whatever you say, I'll do anything it takes...

"But you already will! Regardless of whether or not you choose to do it voluntarily, you _will _do whatever I say." His voice had grown from a whisper and his claws dug into her shoulders as he let the power run his thoughts, "I'm in control now! I _will _get what I want! And now that I've got it I'll make it wish it had never tried to leave me! I'll make _you _wish you had never broken my heart!"

She opened her mouth to respond, finally realizing the absolute truth behind Panther's motives for all of this. But he was quicker, landing the back of his hand across her face and knocking her to the ground before kneeling above her and ripping off her shirt and bra.

_No, it wasn't supposed to be like this! I was supposed to stop the attack!_

"Panther please! If you really love me then...

"Love you?" he asked loudly, his voice crazed with lust and insanity, "Is that what you think it has come to?" he threw his head back and laughed, "No my sweet, I hate you! I hate you with all my heart! And when all of this is said and done maybe you will hate me just as much."

He leaned over her and grabbed both of her wrists, throwing her arms over her head and keeping her completely immobile. She only fought against him for a brief second, not sure if his amazing strength was natural or just derived from his lust, but either way being impossibly too much for the exhausted fox to fight.

_What can I do? Anything? Is it going to end like this?_

Tears filled her eyes as she imagined the lifeless form of the vulpine as he had been in her dream, realizing now that it had probably came true. He was dead. All of them were more than likely dead, and it was all her fault. All for her. And now she was about to get raped by the most insanely obsessed animal in the galaxy who would most likely subject her to years of endless torment. But she didn't feel pity for herself. She didn't deserve it. Whatever happened to her, whatever Panther did, it wouldn't matter. Now that Fox was gone, now that she knew he would never hold her in his arms again, nothing mattered.

_You cant just give up! He could still be alive. _

_**Do you honestly believe that? Its over. Panther won. Everyone died for you, and we still lost. **_

_You don't know that! Fight back, you're stronger than this!_

_**Yes, give him a reason to torture you even more for fighting against him. Face it, its over. Just focus on finding a way to kill yourself. **_

She tried to ignore the sick thoughts that ran through her mind, her exhausted subconscious now reduced to arguing with itself over the hopelessness of the situation. She had hardly noticed Panther rip her jogging pants and panties off, tossing them up by her head before forcing her legs open.

Almost dream-like she turned her head towards her red jogging pants, memories flooding back to her as she recalled all the times she had spent with him while wearing them. Out of the corner of her eye she seen Panther slip out of his shirt, obviously cocky enough to try something now even though help was supposed to be here any minute.

_If he's that confident, if there's that many out there fighting, then there is no way he could have made it. _

A shiny spec caught her eye as she continued to look at her pants and she recognized the piece of the vulpine's knife that she had picked from the lock earlier. Her hands where still held above her head but she knew that if Panther went through with his intentions that he would need to release her any second. In her mind she contemplated even trying it, knowing that regardless of what she did now he would still get what he wanted.

_What's it matter? If I try something now, and fail, he'll just make my life an even worse level of hell. _

But then she realized that it would be impossible to make her life worse now that Fox was dead. There wasn't a thing in the universe that could be done to her that would make her feel any worse than she did now. But if she was going to have to go on without him then she could at least try and make him proud by fighting back.

_It's what he would have wanted. _

Her mind had lost all credibility now, not knowing what was going on anymore or if Fox was alive or dead, telling her that nothing mattered except the vulpine and if she couldn't see him one more time that she'd might as well die. Fatigue from every single action from the past week up until Panther slapping her in the face had done its part, as she could hardly see or think straight. Everything was happening too quickly, nothing made sense anymore. Only hours ago she had been lying next to him on the couch in the lounge, breathing in his scent and letting the cares of her world diminish in his arms.

She continued telling herself it was all a dream, that none of this was really happening. She prayed that this was another one of her nightmares, not caring that it was this realistic as long as she could still wake up beside him once again. But this time it was real. This time Panther would get what he wanted in reality.

_I've got to try...I owe him that much. _

The black cat looked down at the naked fox before him, this time knowing that no one could stop him and that he could do anything and everything he wanted to her. She felt one of his hands leave her wrists, but she didn't try to break away yet, knowing that she wouldn't be strong enough. He pulled out the belt in his jeans and reached for the button, the vixen recognizing this time as the only when he would possibly use two hands.

He cast one more look of pure lust at her before bringing his other hand to his pants and undoing the button.

As soon as his last hand left her wrist she grabbed the end of the knife, having to turn it around in order to have it pointing the right way. In the time it had take her to do this Panther had been able lean back causing the vixen's thrust to miss his neck and hit his shoulder, the short blade hitting the tough and unfatal area of his body.

Instantly she realized that what she had done would do nothing other than give him a reason to torment her even more, but at this point she didn't care, simply glad that she tried something, anything to inflict pain into the cat that had killed the one she loved.

Panther cringed as the knife drove into his shoulder but nothing more, simply pausing and looking down at the vixen in surprise and joy.

"Well well well, and here I was thinking you were going to just roll over and let me have my way with you." He finished by reaching up and grabbing the knife, yanking it out with ease before leaning back down until his face was inches from hers, "But if you want to fight then I'll be happy to oblige,"

As he finished she felt a sharp pain in her own shoulder, Panther showing her just how far was willing to go with his torment as the knife entered her. She brought her left hand over to cover the wound but was quickly stopped as he grabbed it and forced it back over her head.

"Maybe next time you'll think twice before breaking someone's heart!"

She barely heard him, her mind now trying to cope with the pain that seared throughout her entire body. She couldn't understand how Panther had so easily pulled the blade out and ignored the pain. Was he _that_ crazed? Had it gotten to the point where absolutely nothing could stop him? Whatever it was that was driving the cat to continue she wished she had it, the blood now pouring out of her arm, nowhere near as fast Panther's wound.

_I must have missed everything when I tried. I'm sorry Fox, I'm sorry about all of this, I'm sorry I couldn't stop it, that I couldn't save you. _

She felt her warm blood pool beneath her shoulder blade, the vixen now becoming hopeful that she would lose enough to pass out, or luckily die. At least that way Panther wouldn't get what he wanted. At least that way she could see the vulpine's face one more time.

"I never loved you," she whispered, her mind forcing the words out for some random reason. "And you'll never come close to...

She was cut off as another backhand landed on her face, the only response from the vixen being the silent tears that ran down her face. Panther reached down and turned her head back up to where she was looking at him.

"You don't understand do you? It's not about love anymore, its about revenge, its about making you feel like I did when you left me!" He reached down and grabbed the end of the knife, the vixen yelping in pain as he brutally jerked it out, only to run it down the side of her body before reaching her thigh where he made a little circle in her fur with it before reaching back and stabbing her once again, receiving a cry of anguish from her.

"And I'll never stop until you feel that way!" he yelled, pulling the knife out again before stabbing her in another part of the leg, neither of them fatal but extremely agonizing.

"This is just the beginning."

The vixen cried out in pain, as the third installment of the knife entered her body, instantly causing her to regret her decision to hurt him earlier. Panther was more heinous than she could have ever imagined, there was no limit to what he would do to her now. Death seemed like an escape, a haven from the tortures that were coming her way, and as the blood dripping through her fur and onto the floor pooled together she realized that she would welcome its sweet relief at any time now.

Fortunately, through tear filled eyes, she watched the cat leave leave the knife in its place buried in her fur. His insanity had apparently quenched its thirst, if only for a moment, and now he seemed to calm down somewhat. He looked down at her, the most beautiful site he had ever seen welcoming him. The naked vixen, her fur matted and covered in blood and bruises, her eyes filled with tears, sprawled out helplessly before him, it was the site he had been dreaming of this entire time.

He desperately wanted to take her body now, to have his way with her until he passed out from fatigue, but his time was running out. Even through his crazed and insane thoughts he knew that he wouldn't be able to accomplish any of his desires unless he made it back to Sargasso before Cornerian troops arrived, which could be any minute.

It was an almost impossible task but he managed to do it, standing up and jerking the vixen up with him, receiving an all too satisfying moan of pain from her as she fought to stay awake.

"Don't think you're getting off lucky," he mumbled, holding her close and whispering in her ear, "Because when we get back to Sargasso you will feel everything except that." He finished by running his tongue along her cheek, savoring the taste of her tears as he did.

He didn't bother putting his shirt back on, simply content with grabbing his belt and tying it around her hands before grabbing her by the throat and forcing her to walk towards the bridge's exit. That, however wasn't going to work as the vixen instantly fell on the floor, extreme amounts of fatigue accompanied with the stab wounds in her leg and her shoulder being too much for her body to handle.

_Just let it end here. Let me die. If he's dead then whats the point?_

Letting out a sigh of disappointment he reached down and jerked her back up into a standing position before throwing her over his shoulder, the blood from her fur rubbing off on his face.

"Can't even walk on your own," he muttered sadistically, "No wonder you couldn't save any of your friends,"

He reached the the door, stifling a yawn as he pressed the switch and opened the door, only to be greeted by a Venomian soldier who wore a look of pure fear and desperation.

"General Caroso! You've got to help us we...

The alligator's plea was cut short as a blast went of behind him, instantly dropping him to the floor. Panther looked up, the first hint of fear entering his heart as he feared Cornerian troops had arrived much earlier than expected, only to see that it was something much much worse.

"McCloud...

000

Author's Note: Okay well, first off, don't say I didn't warn you. I wanted to portray Krystal as the heartbroken, hopeless vixen that she is, so try not to hate on me for making her kinda roll over like that. I was using BOTH the exhaustion that she felt (she can barely stay on her feet after all this) and the fact that she thought all her friends, including the one she loved more than life itself, were dead. So you can understand why she felt so depressed and unwilling to fight back right? She didn't see the point in it.

Look at me, explaining myself. Anyways, I hope you didn't hate this chapter, I really tried to show how insane and crazy Panther is in this chapter. He has lost it, and will do whatever he can to make Krystal feel the pain he felt when she left him. I dunno, I'm just not real sure about this chapter, I'm afraid a few people wont like it, but I assure you that the next chapter will be epic! Big fight scene and explosions and ect...so I hope I can manage to keep your attention for another chapter or two!

I will REALLY be glad when I finish this damn thing.


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Note: Well I say a lot of this in my note at the ending of this chapter but...as you might have guessed this chapter was extremely hard to write. There was soooo many different ways it all could've played out, so many ways that the fight could have ended. It literally took me 3 hours of planning just to figure out how to do this. And I'm still nowhere near satisfied with it but to be honest I just want to get it uploaded and out of the way.

So here you go, here's the ending of the climax.

000

He hadn't known how he would find the strength to best Panther in hand to hand combat, especially with his broken arm and wounded leg. He could hardly walk, much less fight a skilled mercenary. Exhaustion weighed in, supplied from both the reasonable amount of blood loss and the incredible pain that came from his right arm as he forced it to work without the cast. In this state how could he possibly expect to win?

Before he had gotten to the bridge, while fighting off the Venomian soldiers, that question had been running through his mind constantly. _How could he expect to win? _The vulpine knew that the hate and rage that had built up inside him was fueling his actions, but now even _that_ seemed to be wearing out.

Needless to say, a lot of that changed when he met them on the bridge.

As he met Panther there, the vixen's body thrown over his shoulder like a dead animal, he had wanted to kill the cat where he stood. But all of that changed as a smirk crossed Panther's face, lowering his shoulder and tossing her body down on the floor as if she was nothing more than a bag of laundry.

Everything seemed to freeze for that one second, the vulpine's mind screaming at him to grab the sapphire beauty and shake her to make sure she was alive. But instead he took it all in, he seen the bruises scattered across her body, the stab wounds in her leg and shoulder, the pool of blood that had already stained her fur and surrounded her. He took it all in and tried to compute it all but it wasn't possible. It wasn't possible that something or someone could have done this to her. She was _his _mate. He wasn't supposed to let this happen.

But the scene didn't change, the vulpine slowly looking up at Panther who let an evil smile cross his face, trying to show no fear.

"Oh don't worry," he muttered darkly, "She's not dead...yet."

He stuck his foot beneath her shoulder and kicked, flipping her over to where she could see the two of them, her semiconscious eyes resting on the vulpine.

He was still frozen in his spot, ignoring the smug look that came over Panther's face as he seen the expression the vulpine wore. He couldn't explain what it was he felt now, be it anger, rage, pity, remorse. It was as if they had all been removed from him, his only available emotion left being sorrow as he looked into her emerald gaze. All he could do was stare into her eyes, only knowing them and the comfort he had always been able to find there.

He was a mercenary, a hardened soldier in combat. Breaking bones, getting beaten up, being in dangerous situations at any time of the day, all that was normal for him. He was made for it. But here was this fox, this amazing, beautiful, innocent vixen that he loved with everything he had, now lying on the floor before him, struggling to stay conscious in a puddle of her own blood. Suffering through pain that she did nothing to deserve. Being tortured simply because she was so amazing in every way.

He could only imagine the pain she was in, forgetting that he was in his own share of it now. She was all that mattered at this point. And the site of her on the ground before him, the look on her face, the tears in her eyes, it numbed him.

_What have I done to her?_

"I'll make sure she pays for what _you _did as well," Panther said smugly, "You'll regret ever taking her from me, one way or the _other!" _he finished with another kick to her ribcage, causing her to cough up blood as she tried to hold her stomach with her bound hands.

He could feel the pressure building up inside of him, now the fury that he had hoped to unleash upon Panther finally making itself known over the numb feeling that had blanketed his body. Panther turned back towards him, a cynical look of insanity on his face now. They both knew this was where it would end, they both knew the winner held her fate in their hands. And neither of them was prepared to lose.

"Fox,"

He jerked his head back down to her, her beaten and defeated body struggling for strength as she held her hand out.

"I'm sorry,"

Then something clicked inside of him, something that caused the pain in his leg to vanish along with his right arm. The fatigue that controlled his body was replaced with rage and power, giving him strength that he had never known possible. He could feel the change, his biceps flexing and growing in size, the muscles across his body tightening. He looked up at Panther now, the cat's smug look now replaced with unsureness as the vulpine continued to go through the change.

His eyes lost their green tint, almost completely white now as he cracked his hands open and admired his newly donned claws. He didn't try to understand what was happening, simply grateful for the strength that fury gave him, knowing that with it he could save her. His broken arm was as good as new now and the blaster wound in his leg felt like nothing more than a splinter. He could only guess that seeing her like this, seeing his mate in such a degrading and defeated state, had done something to him that he couldn't control.

_I'm tired of her getting hurt. I'm tired of her feeling guilty._

"And I'm tired of you!"

Before the last word had left him the vulpine's right hand had connected with Panther, the cat hardly prepared for both the speed and unexpected right hook. But he didn't stay down for more than a second, his lust and insanity still giving him more than enough strength to contest Fox. He had no intention of losing. Not again. He had done too much, had been through so much torment to have the vixen stolen away from him once again. This time he would not lose.

"She's mine now," Panther muttered, facing the vulpine and wiping the blood from his lip with the side of his hand, "That right hook of yours wont hold out long. I know those bones haven't healed yet."

Not willing to play Panther's mind games he lunged forward again, once more catching Panther off guard with his impressive speed and managing to land another right to his gut. But Panther was incredibly stronger than the vulpine had expected and in the time that he had managed to throw his powerful shot into the cat's gut he had managed to bring his knee up and knock the wind out of him.

Both mercenaries stepped back, doing their best to hide the pain in their guts as they fought for air. It was obvious to them both who had the advantage, regardless of how much strength the vulpine could summon from his rage. Panther was getting just as much from his lust and insanity, and would probably be more willing to do something extreme to ensure his victory. The vulpine looked back down at Krystal, the pool around her body slowly growing larger as the blood from her multiple stab wounds continued to trickle out. He had no idea how much she had lost, nor how serious the injuries, but the empty look in her eyes that showed the pain and shock told him that he didn't have much time.

_If she dies...I don't know what I'll do to him, but I'll make sure he suffers a fate so much worse than death. _

He looked back up just in time to slide to the left of an incoming fist, only to fall right into the path of Panther's right leg as it connected with his left thigh, instantly reminding him of the blast wound that he had received earlier. He let out a yelp of pain and fell to one knee, immediately regretting that decision as the cat used the recoil from his kick to spin around and land the same right leg against the side of his head, the vulpine being forced to use his bad right arm to cushion the blow.

He fell on the floor, his whole body now blanketed in pain as he struggled to roll out of the way of Panther's fist which connected with the metal floor only an inch from where his head had just been. He hit the wall and quickly stood up, doing his best to dodge the incredible barrage of kicks and punches that Panther continued to easily throw. The fight wasn't going the way he had hoped, but it was going the way he had expected. Regardless of how angry he became thinking about his vixen being raped he couldn't possibly find enough strength within him to overpower the exhaustion that had set in.

He still felt the will to fight, he knew that he could win, but Panther had changed too much, he had become so much stronger in just the past few days that it was unreal. Now, as he felt punch after punch land on his face and torso, he realized that, as cowardly as it may be he would have to win this fight with something other than his fists. Frantically he looked around the bridge, regretting it instantly as Panther landed a perfect hit on his temple, knocking him to the ground.

He gasped for air as a powerful kick connected with his stomach, relinquishing him of all oxygen and throwing him across the floor.

"I told you you were no match for me," the cat said cockily, "You wont save her this time,"

The vulpine fought to stand up, only managing to get up on one knee before he felt his left leg finally pop and give out, the wound finally achieving its goal and immobilizing him. Another powerful kick landed in his gut, causing him to fall forward, barely getting his hands out in time to keep from falling over.

The pain in his leg was excruciating now, the reassuring feeling from earlier now gone as he knew that, in this condition at least, he was no match for the lust driven cat. He had no idea how many of his ribs were broken but the pain from his gut told him that it was more than enough. His right arm had felt as good as new at the start as well, but now, after that kick to the side of the head, he knew that it was worse than before. He was well aware that Panther was wasting no time in beating the hell out of him so he could finish this quickly and escape before help arrived. It was with that awareness that told him to expect a finishing blow any second now.

But he could hardly move, much less fight back. Panther had them both in the palm of his hand, his planning and preparation paying off just as he had expected it to all along. So it was with a cocky, powerful laugh that he allowed to escape him as he grabbed the vulpine by the scruff and tossed him across the floor, causing him to land beside the vixen in a pool of her own blood.

"If you have any goodbyes to say then I suggest you say them now." he chuckled sadistically, "Oh and you might want to wish her luck."

He ignored the crazed laughter that came from behind him, instead reaching forward and placing his left hand on the side of the vixen's unconscious face, relishing the feel of her soft fur and allowing the tears to form in his eyes. No matter what he done, no matter how hard he had tried he had not been able to save her. Now this amazing fox, this sweet, beautiful, innocent vixen was going to have to go through hell because he couldn't protect her.

So badly he wanted to fight back, he wanted to use the anger and hate that raged inside him as a weapon against Panther, yet his battered body wouldn't allow it. An extremely broken arm along with multiple ribs and a blaster wound to the leg were injuries that simply could not be ignored. But he wouldn't feel self pity, not when she was suffering like this before him. He would gladly feel like this the rest of his life if it would mean she'd be safe and happy.

He slowly ran his arm down her shoulder until he felt her hand. He ran his fingers through hers, instantly loosening his grip as he felt a sharp pain stab his paw. Reaching down once more he gently felt for the cause, expecting some type of inflicted injury from Panther to be behind it. Instead he felt the familiar cool steel of a blade and recognized the piece of his knife closed inside two fingers.

_Even when you're unconscious you save me. _

He closed his hand around the blade, wishing that it was longer than a mere four inches but knowing it would have to work. The vixen's warm blood stuck to his fur and he realized that the fight had to end soon, regardless of who won, if they expected her to still have enough blood to survive. Her eyes were still closed as she laid on her side, exactly where her body had fallen after Panther had dropped it and kicked her. Only the shallow rise and fall of her bare chest told him she was alive now.

He felt Panther's presence behind him and stiffened in preparation for a blow to the head. Instead he was forced onto his feet, the cat grabbing his hair and pressing a blaster against his stomach as he rose. No sooner had he gotten into a standing position did the gun go off in his stomach, the blast entering below his ribcage and coming out an inch or so to the left of his spine. He attempted to cry out in pain but it was cut short as the barrel of the gun was shoved in his mouth, slamming his head against the wall.

Now it was all he could do to keep from going into shock as his body tried to cope with the pain. Without realizing it he had clenched his fist extremely tight while trying to bear the pain causing the knife to cut open his hand and fingers. But that pain was nothing compared to what he felt now, and the look of insanity on Panther's face told him that his next pain filled breath would probably be his last.

"Guess what?" he asked calmly, ignoring the vulpine's cries of pain, "You lose."

He nonchalantly looked over at the vixen before smirking and adding, "And as for her, well, lets just say she'll be sorry she ever tried to leave me."

He expected the shot to come any second now, his mind screaming at him to use the knife, hoping for some chance that it would be enough to postpone the inevitable. But everything seemed to be going black now, both his mind and his vision, and he struggled to breath through his nose and blaster rested inside his mouth, Panther still taking in the glory of the scene. He could feel the blood running out of his side and down his leg, meeting the wound from earlier.

"Any last words?" the cat asked smugly.

_Just give me one chance..._

The blaster slipped from his mouth, now inches away from his face but pointing at the ceiling. As soon as it cleared his body he brought his arm around, gripping the knife as best he could and summoning every single ounce of strength that he had left in his body.

A gasp of surprise escaped Panther as the blade entered his backside, his body's instinct taking over and causing him to pull the trigger on the blaster, ringing out shots across the bridge until the clip emptied. The vulpine felt the pain of his hand being cut open as he gripped the knife for maximum power, but instead he tried to focus on acting while he had the advantage. Panther fell to his side, holding himself up on the wall as he tried to reach around his shoulder and pull out the knife from his back.

It had been a hell of a stab, though he had no idea what he might have hit. It had been pure will power that had gotten it that far, all he could hope for now was a vital hit, or at least something that would cripple Panther to the point where he could actually fight back. It was then that he remembered the blast wound in his stomach and, without the blaster shoved in his mouth and holding him against the wall, he fell forward onto his knees, his hands simply hanging at his side as he tried to bear the pain.

_I did what I could. I know it wasn't much, but it was all I had. _

He began to place his hand on the opening of the wound before he remembered that it went through clear on to the other side, causing him to sigh and allow his body to fall over onto the floor, splashing Krystal's blood across his face as he landed beside her. All he wanted to do now was stay conscious, to stay awake long enough to see what happened. His breaths came in gasps as he fought for air to supply his frantically beating heart that seemed to pump his blood right out into the floor, mixing with the vixen's.

_So this is how its going to end? Lying in a puddle of not only my blood, but hers as well. Waiting for it to be over and knowing that Panther will just take her back with him and kill her after a few years of torture. What a ridiculous ending. _

A relieved gasp came from behind him and he imagined Panther finally yanking the knife out of his back, definitely in a lot of pain but nowhere near enough to stop him, especially when all he had to contest him were two half dead foxes. The vulpine did nothing but stare at her face, ignoring the sound of boots on the floor as Panther made his way to him, simply hoping that the last thing he ever saw would be her.

The footsteps stopped right behind him and he heard the cat's clothing stretch as he bent over and picked up the blaster by the vulpine's head, disappointingly shaking his head as he muttered, "Don't worry," he said darkly, trying to hide the pain in his voice, "I wont make _you_ suffer for that. But I'll make her wish you had never done it."

He felt the end of the blaster rest on the back of his neck, realizing that Panther wasn't going to shoot him in the head as long as he could make him slowly choke to death. Eyes still closed, he reached forward and felt for her hand, thankfully finding it before the final blow was made. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to let Panther win, he wasn't supposed to lose her, his ship, his friends. He wasn't supposed to lose _anything! _

He had gone through hell to simply make it this far, but to lose? He had single handily infiltrated one of the most massive space stations in all of Lylat, he had went against all odds and successfully survived one of the most one sided dogfights in history, he had made his way back onto his own ship by docking _with _the same troops that were trying to kill him. He had fought through a company's worth of soldiers, killing dozens in the process, and finally making it to the one who had started it all.

But by that time, after every injury he had received, every soldier he had killed, every ounce of strength he been forced to dig deep and find, he had nothing left to fight with. The state he was in when he met Panther was one of complete exhaustion. More than half his body was immobile and, after the blast to his gut that continued to pour blood, he knew that he would be lucky if he could roll over onto his side.

He could hear Panther's deep breathing behind him, grimacing as the cat once grabbed him by his hair and pulled him up, this time just into a sitting position. He stepped around him, making sure to step on the vixen and his own hand as he got in front of him. The blaster rested under the vulpine's chin as the cat knelt down beside him, an all-knowing look on his face.

"Even after doing what no one thought was possible you still cant save her." he muttered happily, "But at least you can die knowing that she'll be in good hands right?"

His gaze met the vulpine's, a sadistic grin sliding across his face as he realized the fox was only half alive. His grip tightened around the trigger and the vulpine knew that the shot was coming.

"You lose."

A sickening blast rang out across the bridge, the vulpine hearing what he had been expecting, waiting for the pain to accompany the shot that would end his life. He had no idea how it would feel to die this way but he knew he would soon find out. Panther's grip instantly loosened from his head, allowing the vulpine to fall over on his side, still waiting for the intense pain to take over his body from the shot.

But as he hit the floor, the warm feeling of blood smacking the side of his head, he looked up to see a similar action being performed by the cat as he dropped the blaster to the floor and fell onto his knees. A look of surprise flooded his face as he placed his hand over his chest, trying to stop the blood that poured from his lungs. Then there was a second shot, then a third, as two more blasts entered and exited the cat's torso, finally knocking him to the floor where he lay facing the vulpine.

A thousand questions swarmed in his mind as he tried to figure out who or what it was that had saved him. But at this point all he could do was watch in relief as Panther's eyes faded from shocked to lifeless, his body giving one last twitch before he died.

Hardly even conscious, or alive at this point, he looked past the cat's dead body towards the door to the bridge, expecting Falco or maybe Slippy or Peppy to be there. But his vision was blurred and he could hardly keep his eyes open, only managing to see the form of what he thought was a white furred dog making his way over to him, followed by what might have been a red wildcat.

He didn't care who they were as long as they were on his side. It no longer mattered that he was seconds from death as long as someone could save her. As long as she made it nothing else mattered.

The last thing he seen before everything went black was the vixen's tattered body being gently lifted over the shoulder of the white husky, his own following suit by the other soldier.

"C'mon Reese, we don't have much time."

The bobcat nodded and took off behind the husky, the lifeless body of Panther Caroso remaining behind on the floor, his blood meeting the vulpine's and vixen's as they formed a massive pool across the floor.

000

Author's Note: Okay, for starters, I felt like I bounced off the walls a bit with this story. I felt like it could have gone several different ways (of course we all had a different opinion or guess as to how it would play out) but I kind of just sat down and typed this one off the top of my head. I tried to play it off like I thought it should. It may be a good chapter, it may be a horrible chapter, but it IS a chapter. I know it took a while to get done but I'm finding it harder and harder to want to type on it for some reason. This is, obviously, the ending where Panther loses, but that doesn't mean that I'm not working on an alternate ending, because I (and a fellow fanfic writer) just got started on it.

Anyways, please excuse me for the grammatical errors, and I apologize if this chapter wasn't how you wanted it to be. I'm about ready to put a bow on this one and call it done. Just a few more chapters (including the alt. Ending) and I can change the status to 'Complete'

-clicks submit and passes out-


	25. Chapter 25

Author's Note: All right, where to start (literally and metaphorically). I was told to answer some questions about what happened to Wolf and Leon after all of this, so I decided to start this chapter off in Wolf's POV, its just a short piece and it answers a few of those questions. Plus a little extra info at the end. I just started a new job and have gotten 28 hours in only 4 days (which is a lot to this 19 yr old) so forgive me if I take longer to get the next chapter up. I try to get 1 chapter a week but who knows.

I hope this chapter is decent and that you like it. A lot of the 'action' is over and done with, so now its mainly figuring out what all happened and getting them all back together.

000

Just throwing this little piece in here for information's sake.

000

"...in what Military leaders are calling a 'personal attack' on Team StarFox. Cornerian fighters found Fox McCloud's flagship, GreatFox, in a state of peril as Venomian planes and troops swarmed the area. Amazingly Cornerian troops managed to get aboard and fight off the remaining soldiers, while hopefully managing to save the lives of the two, still unidentified members of the team, who we are led to believe are Krystal and Fox himself."

"So they're okay?"

"We are still awaiting further information regarding the current medical state of these two, who are currently in the Cornerian International Space Station receiving much needed medical attention. That's all the time we have right now but we will keep you updated as more information is given out. Stay tuned to transmission channel 104.64 for your latest tunes and up to date news."

The lupine narrowed his gaze at the speaker in his Wolfen; that hadn't been what he had wanted to hear, but it was better than finding out they were dead. At least Fox was still alive, even if he was lying in some hospital bed with intravenous drips running up and down his arms. As long as he lived Wolf would be content.

Panther's cynical plan had failed, and it had cost him his life in the end. He had so obsessed with getting the sapphire vixen that he hadn't taken into account the extreme measures that McCloud was willing to go to protect her. But none of that bothered him. Panther's death was saddening yes, they had been comrades for years and the cat had been one of the few animals that Wolf would trust with anything relatively important, and to some extent maybe even his life.

But time would go on. StarWolf would still exist, though its fighting force was halved, and Wolf hoped that sometime, in the near future, he would finally get to settle the score with his rival. He didn't want the vulpine dead, but it wouldn't hurt his feelings if that happened to be the outcome. No, he simply wanted to test his skills against the famed pilot. He needed to know if he was better than the vulpine.

Then, and only then would he be truly satisfied.

He looked to his left and seen the dark shape of Leon's Wolfen following him a few miles out. They had easily fought off the remaining fighters. The combination of skill along with the confusion of the Invader fighters allowed the three pilots to drop another dozen planes before even being contested. They had done their part, and Wolf tried not to cringe as he realized he was being what one would almost call 'heroic.' He would have to make sure that no one knew of their assistance, and the first step in doing so would be to make sure they were back on Sargasso before Cornerian forces made it that far.

The massive space station was well within view now and the lupine checked his 6 one last time before sending in the order to dock. They hadn't been followed, which either meant the Cornerian forces were content with simply saving StarFox and didn't want to risk losing any more lives, _or, _they thought that the entire Venomian force that had been attacking was destroyed. Of course that wasn't true, not counting himself and Leon the lupine had seen almost a dozen Invader fighters take off into deep space, wanting to get away from the intense fighting to live for another day.

He brought his Wolfen down to the entrance of the station and docked, resting his head against his seat and allowing the events of the night to sink in.

Panther was dead, or at least that's what the report was. McCloud and the vixen were floating above Corneria in some medical bay in critical condition, neither one of them stable yet. The entire force that Panther had assembled was either destroyed or awol, thanks to Leon and himself taking out those cruisers.

_What else is there?_

A pecking on the side of his canopy jerked the lupine out of his thoughts and he looked down, thankfully through tinted glass, at Leon.

"What?" he growled, throwing the top open and hauling himself over the side.

"Just making sure you weren't dead," he muttered.

"From what?"

"I don't know," the chameleon replied with a shrug, "Maybe from being so heroic."

Wolf sneered at the amphibian, getting a smirk in return as the two pilots made their way across the hanger.

"Anyways. Call me crazy, but I'm actually glad we did what we did." Leon added, his voice not as sinister as usual.

"I don't know what Panther was thinking," he continued after receiving a dry look from Wolf, "But if anyone is gonna kill Lombardi its going to be me, not him. And especially not over something as stupid as love. I mean, of all the reasons why he could have wanted them dead, he picked that. Its just stupid."

Wolf nodded, making his way up the stairs to the bridge. He didn't agree with Leon completely, but he could understand why the chameleon wanted to be the one who killed Falco. As for the motive, well, that was something that Leon would never understand...and something that Wolf would never forget. He knew what it was like to kill for someone you loved, but he had never told anyone other than his victim why. Leon wouldn't understand, he had never felt anything close to what Wolf had felt then, or what Fox felt now.

There were some things that you would die for, things that you would kill for. Fox had Krystal, alive and breathing, at least as he thought this. He still had his reasons, his motivation to live, and Wolf felt nothing but envy for the vulpine.

_Cherish what you have McCloud because nothing has changed. I still want to face off with you one more time, and whatever the outcome is we'll have to live with it. _

(Author's Note: If you haven't caught on by now then I'll just say it: I'm hinting at a possible story I might type in the late future concerning Wolf and his long lost love. This is just a little foreshadowing I included because it works for this part of this story anyways.)

000

An all too familiar sound greeted the vulpine's ears as his mind finally managed to claw its way back into consciousness. Painfully he turned his head to the right and seen exactly what he had expected to see; the sleeping form of Falco Lombardi sprawled out in a chair, snoring like crazy with a yo-yo still hanging from his middle finger.

He couldn't help but grin, wishing he had a camera but knowing that he wouldn't have enough strength to even hold it up to take the picture. His eyes easily adjusted to the light of the room and he instantly realized the familiar surroundings of the Cornerian Space Station's medical bay, a place that he and Falco had been in more than once. As usual there was only one window and it was on the side of the room behind Falco, the darkness of space lying in the background, not allowing him to see the massive shape of Corneria from his bed.

Sighing he turned his head back around and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know what to focus on now. He felt the morphine drip in his left arm, but after all these years he liked to believe that he had built up an immunity to it. The morphine IV was not alone however, and he looked down his other arm, still broken in many places, to see several other tubes pumping what he hoped was necessary fluids into his body. It was then that he noticed the oxygen mask on his face, aiding in his breathing as his body tried to heal itself.

Reaching up with his left hand he pulled it off, snorting in distaste as his nose went from pure oxygen to just 'normal' oxygen. With the mask gone he decided to check his blast wounds. He pulled back the covers below him and instantly realized that they had only been over his body for show as they revealed a massive bandage over his stomach where his gut had take the full force of a blast. Timidly he reached behind himself and felt for the other side, grimacing as he realized the shot had went completely through his stomach.

_I could have so easily died from that one. Its just a miracle I'm still here. _

And then the _real _blast hit him in the gut as he remembered the whole reason he had went through all of this.

"Krystal."

He gasped in pain as he instinctively pulled his body into a sitting position, his gut and leg wound reminding him that they were nowhere near healed. But he had to know. He had to find out for himself if she was okay.

"F-Fox?"

He turned to Falco and met the bird's sleepy gaze, "Krystal. Where is she?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Krystal!" the vulpine demanded, not wanting to put up with Falco's jokes, at least until he knew she was okay.

The avian snorted and leaned back in his chair, yanking the yo-yo back up into his hand before responding, "She's next door,"

"Is she okay?" he asked, knowing that regardless of his answer he would have to see for himself.

"From what I've heard," Falco replied, dropping the yo-yo and pulling it up once more, "She was in worse shape than you, as impossible as it may seem. They said she was in shock and had lost a lot of blood."

"I figured I'd stay in here with you while she was being worked on," he continued, "But I guess I was a little sleepy."

"But she's okay right?" the vulpine asked hopefully.

Falco's look lost its casualness and he brought the yo-yo back up into his hand one last time before answering. "I don't know. I figured if anything bad went down they would've told us."

"Us?"

"Slippy and Peppy are in the bay with Pepper and some other troops."

He knew he should have been grateful that his three oldest friends were okay but his heart wouldn't be content until he knew if she had made it. She was all that mattered to him. She was his. He was hers. They had been through hell just to protect the other, and he knew that he'd do it all over again if that's what it took. But now, all he needed to survive was her. He had to know if she was okay.

He swung his legs to the side of the bed, yelping as a sharp splinter of pain ran up his leg and stomach but not stopping. Seconds later his feet hit the floor and his reflexes through his arms forward to catch himself on the bedside table as he fell. Fortunately he caught himself from falling flat on his face. Unfortunately he forgot about the multiple IV's in his right arm and was soon greeted with the pain of numerous needle's being pulled from his arm.

Falco sighed and made his way across the bed, grabbing the pillow and yanking the case off before wrapping it around the vulpine's right arm. Fox nodded his thanks before grabbing the morphine drip stand that was running into his left arm and dragging it behind him as he limped his way out the door.

"Thanks for helping me." he said, feeling the bird's shoulder around his numb right arm.

"I knew you'd have to see for yourself,"

The vulpine didn't like the way Falco had said that but he knew he could do nothing but take it one painful step at a time. They made their way out of the room and and down the hall the few feet to the next door, the vulpine now realizing that, except for his boxers, he wasn't wearing a thing. But that didn't matter now. Neither did the annoying IV stand that he was pulling behind him. He leaned down and bit on the cord, pulling the needle out of his arm before reaching forward and placing his hand on the switch to open the door.

"Please," he whispered desperately, "Let her be okay."

000

_Get up! Don't let him die for you!_

The feeling of helplessness that she felt while lying there in a puddle of her own blood, watching her mate take the beating of his life for her, it was the worst possible torture she could ever endure. More than anything she wanted to do something to stop it but at this point it took all the energy she had left just to stay conscious. But for what? To watch him die for her?

The images blurred together, she watched the vulpine hit the ground in front of her, almost wanting to believe she felt his hand in hers. Then he was back against the wall, the blaster shoved in his mouth as Panther readied his finale. And all she could do was lie there, struggling against the pain that covered her body to stay conscious as she watched all that she had caused unfold.

Now he was on the ground, holding his side, screaming in pain as blood poured from his stomach. Still she could do nothing...but watch. He hit the floor, a look of shock and unconsciousness blanketing his face as he fell on his stomach.

_No...no! This cant be happening! This cant be happening! Fox! Fox! _

She wanted to scream his name across the galaxy, hoping that it would be enough to keep him alive somehow. But instead she remained on the ground, her tear filled eyes being the only sign that she was still conscious as they streamed the salty liquid down her face. All she could see was the vulpine's back, and the ugly blaster wound that went through its lower half. Agony had to be the emotion to describe this. She was in agony. Both of them were.

Out of the corner of her eye she seen Panther fall to his knees but paid it no mind, figuring he was just getting closer to Fox in order to issue one last dark promise about what he'd do to her. Instead she focused on the only being that she could find comfort in; dead or alive. Even if it was just his backside.

She watched in sorrow as the blood from his back and leg dripped to the floor and pooled up, eventually making its way over to her own.

_The last time we'll ever touch, and its after hes dead. _

"What have I done..."

The vixen's eyes finally closed out of sheer exhaustion as she allowed the pain and heartache to overwhelm her and thrust her into unconsciousness. At the last second she thought she heard voices, voices she couldn't recognize, but they were faint and, at the point, didn't matter.

Fox was dead. Panther had won. She was going to wake up to an entirely different world...one without Fox in it. Suicide was just a sweet escape now.

000

Author's Note: M'kay there's that one. I wanted to tell the ending of the LAST chapter in Krystal's POV as well, but as you can probably tell from this last little piece here, I got tired of writing and kinda rushed through it. Of course if you read last chapter then you know how it all went down anyways. I just summed it up real quick and put it in Krystal's perspective, showing how she felt and what she thinks happened. I'm going to finish up the regular story first I believe then come back with the alternate ending. I'm also thinking about doing an alternate alternate ending. Meaning Panther wins, gets what he wants, then still loses because he doesn't kill Fox, he just gets Krystal.

But we'll see how far that goes. It's easy to say what you want to type/write, but sitting down and getting it all done is another story. (no pun intended) Oh btw, I don't know if starting this chapter off with Wolf was good or bad but I kinda needed answer some questions to the story about what happened to him and Leon, plus I dropped some hints about a future story I have in mind about Wolf. Anyways, I hope this chapter was decent, it might not be what you expected but I plan on getting things set straight next chapter so don't count me out just yet.

Oh and I didn't read over this last section so forgive me for the errors. :)


	26. Chapter 26

Author's Note: Okay well this chapter is probably one of the last in this story. The main story anyways. I wish I could have typed on this one a bit more, its just I work till like 4pm and then I come home and just go to sleep lol. Afterward instead of typing on this story I either play COD or TF2. But I'd guess I'm not the only one.

And as for Krystal having blue or green eyes, I'm not sure. It's probably blue but from what I've seen of pics of her on the web she had a variation of the two so...just go with whatever pleases you.

Anyways, here's the next chapter:

000

He reached forward and intertwined his fingers with the vixens, knowing that it was a miracle that he was getting to feel the sensation once again. The steady beep of the holter monitor was like music to his ears, every ping reminding him that she had made it, that she was alive, regardless of the shape she was in.

Falco stood behind him, watching with a content look on his face. They had done it. They had managed to stop Panther. The fact that a complete stranger had been the one to kill the insane cat didn't matter, not any more. All that mattered was that she was alive and by his side once again. Tears formed along his eyes but he managed to hold them back, leaning forward and gently kissing the sapphire beauty's lips. Regardless of how battered and beaten she looked, how unkempt her fur was, she was still unbelievably beautiful.

A pang of guilt still managed to find its way into his heart though, as he looked down at the injuries she had suffered. The stabs to her leg looked extremely painful, and the bandages that had been placed over them still showed blood on each side of her leg. He tried not to imagine what it had been like for her to have suffered through that but he couldn't help but picture her face, writhing in pain as Panther pulled the vulpine's knife out and stabbed her over and over.

Then there was the gash on her shoulder, almost in her neck area, again from his knife. He remembered the blood that had been running out of the wound, accompanied with the look of shock and pain on her face as she had laid there.

Everything he loved had been right in front of him, lying there in a pool of blood while he pathetically lost the fight that would save her life. The pain he felt then was nothing to what he felt now, realizing that, had help not arrived, he wouldn't have been able to protect her. He couldn't protect her.

"I'm sorry Krystal," he whispered, resting his head on her chest.

"I'm sorry I let him do this to you."

The lightest tap of a footstep told him Falco had left the room and he couldn't help but allow a few tears run down his face. He knew he should be happy, he knew he should be thankful, but the fact that things had gotten this far was enough to gnaw at his insides. He was the leader. He was supposed to protect his friends and fight off their enemies, but this time he had failed, miserably. Every one of them had been on the brink of death in the past three days, some more than once. But it wasn't the fact that they could've been killed, that was part of their job, it was the fact that he had been so blindsided by love that he hadn't seen it coming.

_I can't believe I let this happen. Regardless of what she says, this _is _my fault. _

"No its not."

He wasn't sure if the voice had been real or if his imagination playing tricks on him, that is until he felt the vixen's hand tighten around his. He slowly looked up and met her gaze, almost falling to his knees in relief as he looked into her beautiful conscious gaze.

She lightly smiled and began to sit up, only to cry out in pain, not moving more than an inch. Instantly he rested his hand over her chest and held her down, telling her not to move anymore.

"Just stay still," he said softly, "You need to rest, you've been through a lot."

Out of nowhere a hand connected with the side of his face, almost knocking him to the floor. He looked back at Krystal, surprised at the amazing change in attitude as she brought her arm back down to her side.

"K-Krystal...

"You have some nerve telling _me _that!" she yelled, grabbing his hand tightly.

"W-what? I-

"How can you honestly say I've been through a lot after all the hell you've suffered? How can you say possibly say _you're _sorry when we both know that this was all over me!"

"No, I just...

"Look at me," she continued, her voice not hardly a yell, but still angry, "I've got a few bruises and cuts"

"Cuts? Krystal those...

"Then look at you!" she replied despairingly, tears in her eyes, "A broken arm. Shot in the leg, shot in the stomach, beaten to death...,...how can you possibly say something so...so...stupid!"

Tears were running down her face now and she held onto his paw with all the strength that she could muster, which wasn't much. He wasn't sure how to respond. It was obvious that neither one of them would be willing to allow the other to take the blame for this. But the vixen was so beaten up, both physically and mentally, that he feared she would never recover from what Panther had managed to do.

Would things ever be the same after all of this? Could such wounds heal? Be they mental or physical, after all that they had been put through, all that they had been forced to witness, was it possible to forget them?

It was then that he realized how much damage Panther had truly done. Their hearts and minds had been pushed to the limit, both of them had been ready to suffer fates worse than any imaginable death simply to protect the other. Torment and fatigue had battled them both to the point of collapse, the whole time both still doing whatever it took to save their lover. Everything seemed to pile up and explode in front of them in one night, knocking them against the wall and forcing them both to watch the nightmare unfold.

And now that it was all over, now that he finally had her once again, he couldn't help but wonder if things would ever be the same.

He met her tear filled gaze, their muzzle's only an inch apart, the salty substance had made its way down her cheeks and was falling onto her bare chest, causing the vulpine to reach forward with his one good hand and wipe them away.

"I can say stuff like that," he murmured, stroking the side of her face, "Because I love you."

The vixen sniffled and nodded before leaning forward and gently connecting her lips with his, instantly pulling the vulpine forward. He enjoyed the taste of her once more, ignoring the scent of blood that still filled his nostrils. Before, he had feared that the next time he'd be kissing the sapphire beauty was in his dreams, or in the afterlife. But somehow they had both made it. Sure they had gotten the hell beaten out of them, but they had made it.

"Please," she whispered, pulling away just far enough to speak, "Don't ever leave again."

He began to respond but the vixen's arms had made their way around his waist, pulling at him, signaling for him to lay down with her. He easily obliged, trying his best to ignore the searing pain that he felt all over his body as he bent over and eased in beside her. She shifted to her right, also doing her best to mask the pain that came with any sudden movement, giving him room to lie next to her on his side, once more placing his paw on the side of her face as he took in her beauty.

"I couldn't even if I tried."

She immediately released his hand and threw her arms around him, ignoring the pain that came with it. Whatever it was that she had been holding back on she let it go right then and there as tears ran down her cheeks and she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"I love you so much!" she cried, pulling him as close as she could, "And seeing you back there...getting hurt that way...oh Fox I'm sorry!"

His left arm was already around her waist, holding her sobbing body as she finally allowed the pain and suffering to escape from her. All this time, throughout everything that had happened, she had kept it all bottled up. But now, even with her unbelievable mental powers, she couldn't help but let it all out.

"It's okay Krystal...I'm alive see? We're both alive." he rested his muzzle on her head before adding, "And we still have each other."

"But you have gone through so much pain...you've suffered so much for me." she replied guiltily, "I should have never joined you, at least then none of this would've happened!"

"Didn't you hear me?" he asked, this time with a bit of intensity, "I'm alive! You're alive! That's all that matters."

"B...

"You know I'd go through hell for you," he added, now back to his calm self, "Any amount of torture, any amount of pain or suffering, it pales in comparison to how I feel about you."

"Besides," he continued, pulling her face up to meet his, "If you had never joined my team then I'd still be looking for a reason to live."

She opened her mouth as if she was going to respond but paused and merely shook her head, the tears falling off her chin onto his chest as she did.

"And I cant lose that reason."

The gap between them closed once more as the two foxes met in an amazing embrace, each of them reminding the other how much they truly cared as they pushed back against the kiss. Both of them knew that this was their reason for living now. Not StarFox, not Corneria, not Andross. The only thing that kept the two of them alive was the same thing that kept their hearts beating; and that was each other.

He rolled over onto his side and pulled the vixen on top of him, relishing the familiar feeling of her naked body above his. But he had no intention of getting that far tonight, not that he could if he wanted to anyways. He simply wanted to feel her once again, to hold her in his arms until he passed out from either fatigue or the pain that was making its way back across his body from the lack of morphine.

The passionate kiss ended with the vixen's tongue brushing the side of his muzzle before she rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck once more.

"There's so much I want to say to you," she muttered softly, "So much that needs to be said and done because of all this...

"No there isn't," he interrupted, kissing the side of her face, "There's just one thing you need to say. The rest is history."

He felt her hand on the left side of his face, turning his gaze over to his right and connecting her lips with hers, allowing him to once again fall into the safety and comfort of her emerald gaze.

"I love you Fox."

"I love you Krystal."

He looked into her tear filled eyes once again, wishing he could erase the pain and guilt that were in them, but grateful for the love and passion that he could find as well. She would always feel responsible for all of this. That was something that he could never fix. But on the same note, he would always feel the same way for allowing her to suffer this much. She was his mate, his lover, his fox, and the fact that he had allowed this much pain to be inflicted upon her, the fact that she had been subjected to this much suffering, it left him with a feeling or remorse that he could never vanquish.

He turned back on his side, resting his arm around her waist and holding her close to him as they continued to hold onto each other. Those feelings would never leave them, but they were the past. He knew that in order for things to ever be back to the way they were they'd have to look forward and not back. All he knew anymore was her. She was his world, she was his reason for life, and all that mattered anymore was her life being in his own.

He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers, savoring the taste of his mate. He could feel the vixen relax as the embrace went further, her body almost melting into his as she finally allowed the events of the past few days to fade into nothing more than what they were. Memories. Instead, all she focused on now was him. Regardless of what the hell happened in the future, or the past, they would have each other. They had made it this far, they had survived Panther's sadistic plan, now the two of them would never allow it to happen again.

For the first time in what felt like forever they closed their eyes and allowed sleep to take over, not worrying about anything on their hearts as long as the other was by their side. The pain from their injuries seemed like a far off place now. As they held each other close, slowly drifting off to sleep to the beat of the others heart, everything else seemed more insignificant than ever. As long as they had each other they would make it. No enemy was too powerful, no threat was to massive. All that mattered was that he could go to sleep every night with her by his side, her beautiful scent washing away all the problems of the outside world as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

She was his. He was hers. They would gladly die or kill for the other if that was what it took to protect them. Their own safety, the pain or suffering they could possibly endure, it didn't matter, not when the other was in danger.

For him she would do anything.

For her he would do everything.

000

Author's Note: I think I might have one more chapter in store, since I'm pretty sure this one was way to short to end it with, especially in the shape that they were in. So look for one more chapter. I'm well aware that this one was kinda short and I wish it could've been longer but I've been working a lot lately so I cant find time to type. (its 2:36 am right now btw...well its 2:37 now but...)

I wasn't sure how to really type this one, I'm not sure how to explain it though. But I'm hoping that the next (and possibly final) chapter will be a lot better and less disappointing. Just hang with me, we'll finish this one up and I can finally get started on one of the many other stories that I've had on my mind for the past few months.

So once again, sorry if this wasn't long enough, sorry if it wasn't what you were looking for. I'll work harder on the next chapter. I definitely don't want to ruin this halfway decent story after typing this much.


	27. Chapter 27

Author's Note: Well it took me a while, but considering this was one of, if not the, longest chapter I've ever written I guess I didn't do too bad. I hope this chapter isn't bad, I change POV's and time frames in this chapter a few times, but I think you can catch when it happens. I'm letting you know now because I don't point them out myself. But you should be able to notice when it switches from one day to the next or from Fox to Krystal.

By the way, I went out on a personal opinion here and chose: **All in All **- **Lifehouse : **as this story's song. (Not to be confused with All In – Lifehouse...there's another All) Amber had me listen to it and, while the lyrics aren't really any great relation to this story, the song itself is just...right for this last chapter. I dunno, all I'm sure of is I like it and I played it quite a few times while typing this entire chapter. Oh and, I'm not the only one who gives Fox and Krystal the voices they had in Assault right? Krystal's british tone seems suitable.

Anyways, here's the ending.

000

"With all of that being said, it is with great honor that I present this prestigious award to these two fine soldiers. For fighting their way aboard GreatFox minutes before any other Cornerian troops had arrived and saving the lives of two of the galaxy's greatest heroes."

General Pepper looked down at the white husky before him, grateful for the modesty and courage that shown in his eyes. If ever a soldier looked like a hero, it was now. At first the canine had refused to believe the reports; an entire Venomian fleet massing at Sargasso just to attack Fox McCloud's ship. It had seemed as farfetched anything he had ever heard. Why would Andross want McCloud dead at that moment? The war was at a standstill, both sides stretched for supplies and troops, so why would he be willing to send such a massive force out into Cornerian occupied space just to destroy one ship?

Of course all the questions were answered now, based on what Falco, Slippy, and Peppy could tell him. As of right now all they knew was that Panther Caroso had wanted Fox dead, where he would then take Krystal from the team for his own 'personal' reasons. Apparently after failing to get her the first time, after McCloud's amazing infiltration of Sargasso, Panther snapped and took the most extreme measures he could think of in order to get what he wanted. That was where Andross stepped in.

Pepper couldn't figure out how Caroso managed to befriend Andross so easily, or quickly for that matter. He also couldn't figure out why Andross was so willing to help aid in the attack. Sure, Fox was an enemy, and a huge one at that, but sending _two _Pleiades cruisers? Sending hundreds of Invaders and troops? Anyone with any military sense at all would see that as an invasion force.

Which Pepper had. Within seconds of confirming the large fleet heading their way the general had his entire army on standby, immediately sending a fleet of his own to meet the Venomian force. Of course they never went any further than their objective; GreatFox.

He had been listening in to the reports, and from what he had heard he expected the worse. When his troops arrived they reported Invader fighters all over the place, with masses of troops entering McCloud's ship. They could spot only three planes fighting off the masses of Venomian ships, and all three were in pitiful shape. But that's where things got confusing...well...more confusing anyways. Two of the three ships fighting in space were Wolfen's, leading him to believe that StarWolf was lending a hand to Fox and his team. Yet Panther was behind the whole operation.

He knew it would take an excruciatingly long amount of time for his troops to fight their way aboard the battered ship and secure its, hopefully still alive, crew.

That was where these two soldiers came into play. A couple of private's who, after fighting on Fichina for a few weeks, were assigned to secure the planet's space station and keep in touch with the forces on the ground. Somehow they had figured out what was going on, they had put the pieces of the puzzle together just in time. Without them, any help that the Cornerian army _could've _given would have been even later than it already was.

"Privates Reese Anderson and Landser Davidson, you have shown extraordinary courage in the face of danger. Your quick thinking, use of tactical knowledge, and observation, provided you with the skills needed to do the impossible and save the lives of two of Lylat's most renown heroes. I'm proud to call you both Cornerian soldiers."

He looked down at his hand, running his thumb across the surface of the medal and feeling the rises and falls of the texture. Not even he, the general of the army, had received this award.

"So it is with great honor that I present both of you with this," he said proudly, stepping up to the husky and pulling out the first medallion, "The Medal of Honor."

The husky bowed his head and allowed Pepper to fasten the band around his neck before looking back up and snapping a salute in respect.

"This is the highest honor that any soldier can ever be presented with. What you two did went beyond bravery." he added, putting the other medal around Reese's neck, "You were willing to kill in order to save, willing to die in order to protect. That is what being a soldier is all about. Dying for those you live to protect."

He looked over to his right at the blue vixen, standing beside the vulpine before half smiling and adding, "Of course, you don't have to be a soldier in the army in order to do that."

Fox looked down at the sapphire vixen by his side and grinned before kissing her forehead and pulling her closer. His right arm was almost completely healed now, only a light sling remaining in place of the cast. His blaster wound to the stomach was still easily noticeable in his walk, but the pain had almost vanished and within a month he would be as good as new. As for his leg wound, it turned out that the blast hadn't went any further than his bone, and was practically unnoticeable now.

But for Krystal, it wasn't the physical wounds that had almost killed her, it was the amount of blood she had lost. Panther had beaten, kicked, thrown, and worst of all, stabbed her numerous times. All five places the knife had entered her, either by intention or chance, had hit a vein. And after sitting down and talking with Landser about the whole ordeal, which was almost 2 weeks ago, he learned how bad of a shape they were both in.

"By the time we had gotten back to our ships I was completely covered in her blood," he had said, sitting by the vulpine's hospital bed. "And Reese wasn't much better with you thanks to that shot to your gut."

Fox had nodded in response, trying to keep the anger from building up inside him once more. Panther was dead now. Revenge was impossible. Part of him was overjoyed that the cat was burning in hell right now, yet another part of him, the part that cared about her more than anything in the universe, wanted the cat alive. He wanted another chance to inflict the pain upon Panther that the cat had inflicted upon Krystal...only on a much larger scale. His death had been swift and quick, a benefit of Landser's good aim. But that wasn't how Fox had wanted it.

He had hurt her so much, he had put the vixen through so much pain and suffering, both mentally and physically, that the vulpine couldn't help but clench his fists in anger. There was nothing he could do now to serve the cat the justice he deserved. Except do the one thing that he had tried to stop.

Be with her.

"So how is she doing?"

Landser leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head and showing the vulpine his impressive build before responding, "As of this morning? The doctor, who is still furious at you by the way for pulling out all your IV's and falling asleep in her bed,"

Fox rolled his eyes and shifted up into a sitting position, signaling for the husky to continue.

"Anyways, he said that she was still short on blood and that her body would need at least another three days to repair itself well enough to where she can get up and move without the risk of her blacking out."

The vulpine nodded, turning his attention to the bandages wrapped around his stomach. As much as his wounds hurt right now he would gladly take hers as well, just to keep her from suffering. The pain that she had to endure was completely unnecessary, she had done absolutely nothing to receive it.

That was what pissed him off so badly. She had done nothing to anyone to receive any of this! She was just this sweet, beautiful, innocent fox who only cared about doing what was right and protecting her friends. Yet she had been subjected to all this torture, simply because she was perfect in every way.

_If I hadn't been half dead when we had met I would have killed you Panther. But I would have made you suffer so much beforehand that you would've wished you had never laid your eyes upon her._

So badly he wanted to hold her in his arms right now, just because he knew that she would be safe there. One thing was sure, as long as there was a breath in his body he would protect her. As long as he could move nothing would ever hurt her again. He had already put her through so much, and he already feared that she would never fully recover from all that Panther had done to her, so it was no surprise when he almost got in a fight with the doctor who tried to pull them apart and send him back to his own room.

But days passed and somehow everything seemed to work out. The nurse said it was a miracle that he had been able to get out of his bed and walk down the hall to her room, considering the massive injuries and fatigue that ruled his body. She also said it was a miracle that he was able to talk with her. The vixen had been under heavy medication and, accompanied with natural exhaustion and injuries, no one could figure out how she had been able to regain consciousness long enough to actually have a conversation with him, much less move her body over to make enough room for him to lay by her side.

The next few days all they did was lie there, allowing the marvels of modern medicine to restore their bodies to the point of mobility. He managed to sneak out of his room every night, late after midnight, and visit her. Her mind and body was still completely exhausted and she stayed asleep, but that didn't matter, not as long as she was still alive. That, and simply getting to see her face gave him all the motivation he would need to get over his injuries.

By the end of the week the doctor decided that sedatives were no longer needed for her, that her body was healed enough to consciously repair itself. He had been by her side when she finally woke, gently running his hand across the three bandages on her leg that covered the stab wounds.

She had surprised him at first, he hadn't expected to feel the vixen's paw rest over his own, and he couldn't help but jump, getting a small laugh from her.

"Sorry," she murmured softly, "I just wanted to feel this again."

Instantly he was leaning forward, pressing his mouth to hers and squeezing his paw around hers. They were both awake now, both alive and breathing. There was no army outside these walls, no threat of being murdered or raped. Now, it was just him and her. Two beaten up lovers who somehow, after taking all that the galaxy could throw at them, had made it back into each others arms. And neither of them had the slightest intention of letting go. Not again.

He couldn't bring himself to pull away this time. He hated to admit it, he knew it was stupid, but he was honestly too afraid of losing her again to let go. He ran his other hand to the side of her face and gently brushed the hair from her eyes before slowly easing back just enough to speak.

"I love you,"

It was all he could think of to say. It was all he knew anymore. The war, the fighting, his Arwing, StarFox, StarWolf, Corneria, Lylat, Andross, Sargasso...all of it was just stuff he didn't care about anymore. None of that could make him feel the way she did. The only thing he knew to be the truth was that he loved this vixen and that he would kill anyone that tried to hurt her. Whatever it took, no matter the cost, he would be there for her from now on.

She let a loving smile cross her lips before pulling him forward and embracing the vulpine once again. All that had happened, it seemed like a hurricane of torture and pain had just slammed into her, and now, looking back, it was as if it all had happened in a mere hour. Being forced to go with StarWolf to Sargasso, being forced to do that with Panther in order to save Fox, it was such a distant memory compared to what had just happened. Then she was rescued by him, saved from losing her virginity to the psychotic cat, brought back to GreatFox where she could barely remember a few days of happiness by the vulpine's side.

Then all of this had exploded, all of her friends had been hurt and Fox had to once again suffer through an extreme amount of pain for her. Words couldn't describe how she had felt while lying there in that puddle of blood, watching from a distance as Fox, also drenched in his own blood, desperately tried to fight back against the uninjured Panther. Despair didn't even come close to explaining it, especially when she seen the vulpine thrown against the wall, the end of Panther's blaster shoved in his mouth.

It was then and there that she had almost gave up living. The shock wouldn't allow her to look away or close her eyes, and as the shot rang out across the bridge she had never felt as lifeless. She watched them both fall to the ground, but her gaze ultimately rested on the vulpine. She didn't know that Panther was the one who had been shot, thanks to Landser and Reese's last minute rescue, so the only thing her heart and mind could register was that he was dead.

At that point all she was aware of was his knees hitting the ground, a gasp of pain escaping his throat before he lifelessly fell on his side, splashing blood across her face. Her heart screamed in despair, refusing to believe all that had just happened. She knew it shouldn't have been this way, he wasn't supposed to die for her...yet he did.

A numbness overtook her body and she simply laid there, her mind slowly slipping into a comatose like state as everything set it. All she could do was hope to die before Panther could nurse her back to health.

Which, of course, didn't happen. And waking to the sight of the vulpine by her side, his paw intertwined with hers as she lay in the hospital bed...well...she honestly figured it to be a dream. Her body was sore all over and her head felt like it was going to explode from the pain, but as long as this dream was happening, if that's what it was, she was going to enjoy it. She was going to spend one last night with him.

But it wasn't a dream.

She woke nearly a week later, still in the same bed, and Fox still by her side.

She looked ahead at the two soldiers standing before Pepper. They had figured out what was going on, they had somehow gotten there before everyone else, and they had somehow stopped Panther before it was too late. The white husky turned towards her and allowed a small smile to tug on his face before firmly nodding at both her and Fox. Looking over to their right she took in the crowd. It seemed like all of Corneria had gathered to pay tribute to the two soldiers who saved their heroes. As far as she could see people were standing in the streets, clapping and cheering.

Here, it was as if the war didn't exist. The city was still as beautiful as ever and full of life. People continued to go to their everyday jobs, doing whatever they could to support the war effort in the process. They still came home to their families and led normal lives, spending time with the ones they loved.

She couldn't help but wish that lifestyle upon herself and Fox, although she knew it wouldn't work. She wanted to keep him out of danger, away from the fighting. Every time he took off in his Arwing, every time _she _took off in her Arwing there was a chance one of them would never come back, and she knew she couldn't go on without him. Twice he had almost died because of her, and both times she swore that she wouldn't let it happen again.

Looking up at the vulpine she knew that he would quit the mercenary life if she simply asked him, but there was something about it, something about GreatFox and the Arwings, the fighting and the necessity to protect the ones you love...it all seemed just...right. He looked down at her and gently kissed her forehead, pulling her waist closer to him and holding her tight.

Pepper had finished the presentation, returning a final salute to the two new heroes before allowing them to turn around and face the crowd, which exploded in applaud immediately. Afterward the two turned and made their way over to the couple, stopping in front of them and, after nodding, ringing off a salute. He never took his arm from around her waist, returning the salute with his left hand. She, however, felt like a more heart felt sign of appreciation was needed and, without hesitation, stepped forward and wrapped her arms around their necks.

"Thank you," she whispered, fighting back tears. "Thank you for saving him."

Landser cast a glance over at Reese who almost grinned before nodding and patting her back, the husky following suit.

"We're soldiers," Reese replied easily.

"It's what we do." Landser added.

She stepped back and nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes before Fox decided to go with the moment as well.

The vulpine stuck his hand out towards the husky, "Sometimes a salute isn't enough of a thank you to someone who saved your life."

Landser chuckled and took Fox's hand, squeezing only as hard as the vulpine would, not wanting to hurt his still injured arm.

"You saved the galaxy," he replied, "I think we owe you a couple more handshakes."

They all shared a laugh, Fox shaking Reese's hand as well before stepping back and feeling the vixen's paw interlace with his own. The galaxy was in the middle of a war, lives were being lost every day, planets were being controlled by ruthless tyrants who wouldn't hesitate to kill their own men if it meant more power, yet in the middle of all this, in the midst of everything that was going on he couldn't but feel more at peace now than he ever had.

Corneria had never looked so beautiful it seemed, the skies were blue, it wasn't too hot or too cold, the citizens where happy and carefree. They knew Andross would be defeated, as did Fox. Evil would never triumph as long as heroes such as himself or Landser or Reese existed. He had no idea how long it would take or what would be required of him and his team, but he knew that they all had a part in restoring peace to Lylat, even if it meant dying.

But as heroic as he was the vulpine couldn't help but laugh at the idea. Now he had a reason to keep living. Before he had thought that dying in the end, killing Andross in the process, would be the best possible outcome of his life, but now with her by his side, he couldn't possibly leave.

After issuing one last nod Landser and Reese made their way off the grandstand and out into the group of military personnel that Fox could only guess was their platoon.

"Now what?" she asked, holding her arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well..." he replied, nodding at Pepper before leading her down the back exit of the stage where GreatFox was sitting. "I figured I'd go work out in the rec room, maybe practice my piloting skills for an hour or so, and perhaps I'll come back and sign a few autographs to keep up appearances."

"Or..." the vixen responded craftily, "You could go back to my room and take a shower with me and, after cuddling on my bed for a little while, show me how much you really love me."

He issued a groan and rolled his eyes, grabbing onto the rail and leading her up the stairs into GreatFox's hanger.

"Do we _have _to cuddle?" he asked, turning his gaze away to hide the smirk that was on his face. "I mean, its not like its necessary before sex right?"

"You're lucky I couldn't live without you or I'd kill you for saying that."

He grinned and pulled her closer, now making their way up the stairs and into the command post, "Go ahead," he replied, "I'm half dead still, even Slippy could take me down in this shape."

"Don't tempt me."

He stopped, now outside her bedroom, and turned to face her, softly pushing her up against the wall and resting his hands on her hips. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth against hers, still loving the thrill he got from simply kissing her. She reached around her side and opened the door, pulling him by the front of his shirt across the room and to the shower, her mouth never leaving his. He looked down at her and grinned, not being able to hold back the happiness he felt any longer.

He had never believed in the fairy-tale ending thing but right now, seeing how it all had played out, he couldn't help but second guess it. Just a week ago both of them were lying on the floor of the bridge covered in their own, and each others blood, struggling to stay alive in the face of death. Neither of them had expected to live past that night, at least not with the other still by their side. But now such expectations had been proven wrong and every second he could spend with the sapphire beauty was one he didn't plan to waste.

Instinctively he slid the sling off his right arm, grateful that it was just about fully healed now, before wrapping both his arms around her waist and resting his forehead against hers.

For a second they locked eyes and did nothing but enjoy the sight of the one they couldn't live without. Nothing else existed now. Outside of this room, those four walls, was a universe full of fighting and killing and sorrow and despair, but for now all it took to block it all off was the locked door to the vixen's room. It seemed childish to put it that way but that was how they felt now. As long as they had each other, as long as they could stay together like this, everything else would wait on them. The war couldn't bother them, nor StarWolf or Andross, or even their teammates.

She rested her muzzle on his neck and mimicked the vulpine by putting her arms around his waist.

"I never expected us to end up here," he murmured, running his hand along her waist.

The vixen couldn't help but agree, not sure if she should feel guilty or thankful now that it was all over. She would never be free of the guilt that pierced her heart because of all of this. Regardless of what anyone told her she knew, they knew, that this was all because of her. She wasn't paying attention, she didn't see the signs. She made mistakes when she should have been thinking about her friends. She almost caused him to lose his life because of her, and that was something she would never forget.

"Yeah...I know."

The vulpine frowned, he knew that tone all too well. She was feeling guilty again. It didn't take much to change the vixen's mood, not anymore...not after all she had been put through.

_I guess I can blame myself for that one. I need to watch what I say._

An unexpected chuckle escaped her and caused him to step back and hold her at arms length. "You have some nerve thinking that." she muttered, "Even when you do nothing you still take the blame for something that's my fault."

_Damnit, when will I remember she's a telepath?_

"It's just...I don't want you to dwell on what's happened these past few weeks," he replied, a concerned look on his face as he took her paw in his, "It's over now, there's no need for it."

She sighed and looked away, clearly not willing to just 'let it go' as Fox wished. How could she? How can you be the cause of so much pain and suffering, almost getting all your friends killed, almost losing the one you love, and _still_just manage to 'let it go'. Sure they had won. Panther was dead, StarWolf had actually ended up helping them, assuring her that they wouldn't have any trouble from Wolf. Everyone was alive, they were all together, but the events that had transpired were ones that she couldn't forget, no matter how hard she tried. Even the news of her home planet being destroyed was easier to cope with than this.

"I know its over Fox," she murmured, forcing a smile and stepping up into him, "Nothing can change that."

She reached around him and pulled back the curtain, turning on the water.

_**I'll always feel responsible for this, no matter how long I live. But I'm not going to let it control me. Fox was right, its over. All we can do now is move forward, and I plan on being by his side the whole way.**_

She leaned back up and pressed her lips against his, wanting to prove to him that she wasn't going to let this affect how much she cared for him. A growl of expectancy escaped the vulpine and she couldn't help but giggle in amusement, pulling away and running her paws down his chest before issuing a growl of her own.

"All I know," she whispered, standing on her tiptoes and pressing her muzzle against his, "Is that I love you. And as long as you're with me nothing else matters."

He pulled her tight, resting his head against hers before responding in the softest of whispers, "And all I know is that I love you. And I'll never let anyone or anything hurt you again."

She looked up at him and couldn't help but smile at the slight outline of tears that had rimmed his eyes, knowing she looked the same. She brushed her muzzle against his before once more connecting their mouths in an blissful kiss. Her hands made their way to the vulpine's side where they easily removed his belt and began working on the lower half of his attire.

He growled once again before reaching around the vixen and slowly pulling down the zipper that held her blue flight suit on. Within seconds both were in the shower, wearing nothing but an unmistakeable lust for the other on top of their fur. He gently pushed her against the wall, running his hands across her bare stomach as he lovingly kissed her body, savoring the taste of her and the feeling of her paws as their claws ran across his back.

Eventually he made his way back up to her lips where they connected in yet another amazing lust filled kiss. He placed a hand on each side of her, lifting her up and allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist as he pressed her against the wall of the shower with more force, still edging the kiss on. He reached up and brushed away the locks of hair that covered her face, instantly being greeted with loving, lust filled eyes that caused another growl of expectancy to escape him.

Finally he pulled away, allowing each of them to catch their breath as the water continued to rain down on them.

"So..." he muttered in her ear, running a paw down her stomach. "You still want to cuddle?"

"I'm afraid I cant let you do that Fox." she murmured back, licking the side of his face and letting a small laugh escape her.

"Oh really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and pulling her closer. "Well then...what _can _I do?"

He felt her hands slowly making their way down his chest as she softly pressed her lips against his own, breaking away for only a second before answering his question in a lust driven whisper.

"Love me."

"I already do," he murmured back, resting his muzzle against her forehead.

"Then show me."

The ferocity of the vixen's next kiss caused him to step back until he was against the other wall of the shower. He felt her legs unwind from around his waist as she stood before him, still amazing him with the magnitude that came from the kiss as he fought against her tongue. Her hands ran down his body, soon followed by her mouth as she passionately covered his torso with licks and kisses, leaving him to catch his breath as she went lower and lower.

"Krystal wait."

He hated himself for stopping the beautiful fox before him, but his heart was stronger than his lust and he couldn't go on with this until he was sure she was ready for it. After all that had went down he knew that she felt responsible for it all, he knew that she would bare the guilt as long as she lived, regardless of what he told her. And it was with that knowledge that he feared she might, just might, do something she wasn't willing to do just to pay him back.

_She has nothing to feel guilty for, yet she'd take the blame for all of this. I don't want her to feel like she owes me this. I cant risk that._

"Fox..." she muttered, a hint of vexation in her tone, "You think too much."

He stiffened as he felt her mouth turn its attention back to his foxhood, causing him to take a deep breath before sighing and resting his hand on the back of her head.

"Yeah maybe I do."

000 Signing off.

Author's Note: Well...that's it. This story is complete, or the regular ending is anyways. It took me roughly four months to write this. Since then my life has changed dramatically, yet the whole time this story was always in my mind, constantly updating itself, thinking of when and what I could write next. Since publishing this fic I have graduated from high school, gotten a new job, registered for college, and completed endless other events that are required of me to have a chance of excelling in this financially superficial world that we live in. I cant tell each and every one of you that has read this story how grateful I am for the reviews you leave me. You other writers out there might understand what I mean when I say 'waking up and seeing that your story has gotten a good review, even if its just a few words, can make your day.'

There's no feeling as great as the one you can get from knowing people respect and support the way you express yourself in your stories. They are a part of who we are, every sentence, every period or comma, even the misspelled words. They make us all unique, and that's what makes us human. I'll be honest with you, there isn't anything special about me. Sure I can play basketball, but I'm not the best on the team. I'm good at a few video games, but I'm not the best out there. There is nothing in this world I can do that someone hasn't already done faster or easier or better. But I'll still give everything my best shot, because I'm just as happy with an honorable mention as I would be with a gold medal.

Anyways, I guess what I'm saying, in some weird way, is 'Thank You.' I've never met any one of you, and we're all probably thousands of miles away from each other. But the fact that random strangers can get together and support each other based on something as simple as a story, well, that gives me some form of hope for us. The world isn't as fucked up as we think, don't believe everything the news throws at you, people out there are actually pretty cool once you get to know them.

I'll work on the alternate ending for this story, I've already got a fellow writer helping me with it and we both think it's decent. He's adding his own dark twist to it (yeah I'm saying this after giving my 'The world isn't as fucked up as we think' speech. Ironic eh?) of course since Panther was insane and obsessed with getting Krystal you have to expect some extreme instances.

Well I guess that's all I have to say. I'll begin my next fic extremely soon. I've had numerous ideas for my next story floating around in my head ever since I submitted chapter, oh hell I don't know, 20 of this story I guess. It'll probably be a Fox/Krystal fic, and I'm thinking about throwing Fara Phoenix in there to add a little jealousy between her and Krystal. Sound decent? PM me if ya have any good ideas about what I could write about.

Once again, thanks for everything guys. I appreciate every single word of advice you gave me and I hope that you'll keep reading my stories if I can manage to keep writing them. So with that said, the original storyline of 'For Her' is now officially over. They managed to survive everything that was thrown at them, and in the end they had what they had wanted all along.

Each other

000

Note: I added the first chapter of the Alt ending yesterday, but I have taken it down as of 3:30pm on July 20 I will keep working on the alt ending but I am going to start on another fic that has been on my mind for a while. So look for this story to be updated in a week or two.


	28. Alt 1

For Her: Alternate Ending.

Written by and Raleigh747

I know a few of you think that I should just leave the story where it was, but I also received quite a few PM's asking for this ending as well. I'm going to go ahead with this, and if you wish not to read it then please don't. The ending wont be what you think, but I wont say much. Here's the first small chapter of the Alternate ending tho.

So, lemme just sum it up:

This is the alternate ending to my story For Her, in which Panther defeats Fox and gets Krystal. I wrote only the beginning of this story and only read over what Raleigh added, giving a few pointers and suggestions along the way. We both knew that an ending with this conclusion would result in something rather dark and cynical, much like Panther himself, and I feel like I should warn any readers who wish to view it that it contains a good amount of harsh violence and some sexual activity. So much so that I am required to up this story's rating to Mature, less I get flagged for it.

In other words: Raleigh is gonna put a dark twist on the backside of this story. I'll admit, he's a good writer, and I grammar checked every word and sentence, but as for what he wrote, well, I didn't change much. But I'm gonna take over soon and really make you Fox/Krystal lovers happy again, so don't be too disappointed with this or the next chapter just because it seems like its all bad, because it not.

000

Author's Note: Hi my name is Raleigh and I've been lurking around StarFox fanfiction for years, leaving helpful comments and reviews wherever I can. I have three really successful stories I have written but none that are as good as this one. So I'm grateful to lend a hand and I hope that you guys like where we decide to go with this alternative. It was while reading this story that I knew I could lend a hand in the making of this darker, sadder, alternate ending. So I hope you can bare to read this because, according to Cpt its gonna pay off once again.

000

He stepped back and allowed the vulpine's body to fall, hitting the floor with a sickening, yet satisfying thud after the blaster shot to the gut. Grimacing from the pain he reached around his shoulder and pulled out the blade that the vulpine had managed to stab him with. It had been a last ditch effort, and it had failed. All he had done was ensure that she was punished even more once he had her.

"Don't worry," he said darkly, trying to hide the pain in his voice, "I wont make _you_ suffer for that. But I'll make _her_ wish you had never done it."

He kicked the vulpine over with his foot, hoping to see his terror and pain filled eyes only to find two lifeless orbs looking up at him.

_How pathetic. Already dead? _

"I figured you would at least stay alive long enough to see us off." he said cockily, issuing one last kick to the vulpine's ribcage before turning his attention to Krystal.

Ignoring the pain in his shoulder he reached down and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to her feet and turning her head so she could see him. Her eyes shown a faint consciousness and the cat's heart beat with satisfaction as he realized she had witnessed McCloud's death. For a second he had feared she would be unconscious for the event, but the tears that streamed down her face as she looked down at him were all too reassuring to him.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, faking concern, "We haven't even started yet."

Her knees gave out and the cat was forced to sweep her off her feet before throwing the vixen over his shoulder, growling in pain from the knife wound Fox had left him. He took one last look down at him, smirking in satisfaction at the vulpine's lifeless body before reaching into his suit and pulling out a rose.

"She's mine now," he muttered darkly, tossing the flower onto the vulpine's chest, "And I'll make sure she knows it."

An evil chuckle soon formed into hysterical laughter as the cat stepped onto the vulpine's chest, crushing the rose beneath his boot and making his way out of the bridge and towards the hanger, Krystal's semiconscious, blood covered body still flung over his shoulder. The ship was close to falling apart and he wasted no time in making his way down to the hanger and back into one of the main Venomian ships. He carelessly tossed her unmoving body onto the medical bays only operating table.

"Fix her." he muttered darkly to the penguin before turning towards the exit.

"After what you've done to her it might take a while," the bird replied nervously, already injecting morphine into the fox's chest. "A few weeks, maybe a month."

Panther stopped at the exit and grinned to himself, relishing the feeling of absolute control that he had now. Just knowing that a month from now she would still be under his control, just knowing that she had nothing or no one to fall back on, it gave him a sense of satisfaction he had never known before. He had her now, just as before. But this time he would not lose her. Not before he finally got what he wanted out of her, and that was more than she could ever offer.

_I won, just as planned. I have her, he's dead. It's over for him, and now its over for her. _

000

Fox's lungs screamed for air as Panther's boot left his chest, crushing the rose that he had dropped. There was no way the vulpine could move his body but he knew what the site behind him looked like. He could easily picture her tattered body tossed over his shoulder like a killed deer being taken back to camp by the hunter. Only she wasn't dead, and he wasn't a hunter, and what he had in plan for her was something that she didn't deserve but would receive anyways.

He could feel the blood pouring out of his stomach, figuring he only had a few minutes before the intense pain faded away and was replaced with the sweet relief of death. It was a wonder Panther hadn't shot him again but the vulpine figured he looked so convincingly dead already that the cat had already assumed the worst.

But it wouldn't matter. He would still die here, and Panther would get what he wanted. Fox had done the impossible, but it hadn't been enough.

With a sick feeling in his gut the vulpine closed his eyes and waited death to overtake him, only wanting the pain from his wounds to leave his body forever. It had been two minutes of intense torture since Panther had left with her, and he had been forced to suffer every second of it, both mentally, emotionally, and physically. Finally everything went black and the vulpine's mind slipped of into a comatose state.

000

The white husky ran through the hall, looking each and every direction with his blaster, making sure it was clear of hostiles and that no one needed their help. Reese was directly behind him, and the two made their way through the lounge and up to the entrance to the bridge. Each took a position on the side of the door before Landser, after a nod from Reese, hit the switch and opened the door. Both stepped around, blasters ready to fire at any moving thing.

There was, unfortunately, none. But immediately their eyes rested on the large red pool that ran across the floor, flowing past their feet as the door allowed the crimson fluid to enter the lounge. Obviously a battle had went down here, and even more obviously someone was dead, or awfully close. That was when they recognized the body in the middle of it all. Within seconds they were by the vulpine's side, Reese reaching forward and checking Fox's neck for a pulse.

"So faint," he muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a syringe, "I doubt he'll make it."

The advanced chemical that the bobcat shot into Fox's chest was a combination of both morphine and adrenaline, meant to keep a soldier who was in critical condition alive only for a few minutes more until 'real' medical treatment could be applied.

Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs on the opposite side of the bridge and Reese wasted no time in hoisting the fox over his shoulder before taking off back towards their ship. Landser followed suit, firing behind him at the Venomian troops that had seen them.

They had managed to get this far unscathed so there was a chance they could make it back in one piece as well. But even if they managed to get back to a cruiser in record time...the chances of Fox McCloud having enough left in him to make it were slim. It would take nothing short of a miracle for the savior of Lylat to live to see another day.

000

Author's Note: Well, what do you guys think? Raleigh is a great writer, I know his other stories have gotten a lot of reviews, but to be honest I did more than half of this chapter. His part will come in next chapter, and prolly the one after that as well. To be honest I'm probably going to get another 5 or 6 chapters into this alternate ending simply because I couldn't allow such a well written story (as you guys tell me) even have an Alternate ending in which Fox and Krystal weren't together forever.

But I guess I CAN allow Panther to enjoy what he believes to be victory for a few chapters right?

So yes...this is an alternate ending in which Panther wins, yet Fox still lives and...well...you'll be surprised how it plays out.


	29. Alt 2

Author's Note: Hi guys, Raleigh here. You'll be glad to know that neither me nor the good Cpt are dead. However he has started his freshman year of college and has gotten a new job so he has passed the story over to me for a little while. (had I known this earlier I would have been working on it myself)

Anyways, I know this alternate ending is supposed to have Panther winning and doing what he wants with Krystal, but I decided to change it around a little. Yes Fox is alive, so is Krystal, but both are in critical conditions after all that has went down. Panther has Krystal with him on Sargasso now, but we're gonna be in Wolf's POV for this short chapter in order to set things up.

Oh and 1 more thing, the background story with Wolf was Cpt.'s own piece, kind of a high school love story with a bad boy deal. Anyways I typed it, he "says" he read it but I dunno, he sleeps more than anything else these days. So anyways, lets try and finish this story up in the next month or 2. Here's the next part of the Alt. Ending of For Her typed entirely by Raleigh and edited by the story's original writer, Cpt. Fox:

000

"Well I'll be damned."

"I too find it hard to believe."

Wolf and Leon stood off to the side as they watched Panther's Wolfen land in the hanger, accompanied by a dozen or so remaining Invader fighters. The black cat threw open his canopy, standing up in it displaying his trophy to everyone within eyesight. At first Wolf had a hard time depicting the scene, most of the two forms being covered in blood, but finally recognizing the blue tint of the Cerenian vixen that had been the cause of all this.

_From what I can tell she doesn't even look alive. Panther might have overdone it. _

The cat looked down from his perch on his Wolfen, a look of power and satisfaction coating his face as he jumped down to the ground with the vixen. Wolf and Leon held their ground, not hinting in the least of their aiding of StarFox in the battle. Hopefully Panther was unaware of their treachery, being on GreatFox most of the battle, but if he knew about what they did he didn't show it.

_And if he does know I'd like to see him do something about it. _

For a moment there was nothing but silence as the three pilots took in the situation. They all knew what would happen now, although only to some extent. Inside, Wolf was simmering in anger at McCloud's likely death, wanting to have been the one who killed him in the end, not Panther. But he couldn't let Panther know. Before this he had never feared going up against anyone in StarWolf, especially Panther. But after seeing all of this unfold, after witnessing how truly powerful Panther could become, he figured perhaps the best thing to do for now was stay quiet and let him put a few notch's on his bedpost. After a while Panther would get this out of his system and get back in line, but until then it was best to stay out of his way. He had gone through too much to get that vixen and now that he had her the lupine couldn't imagine anything short of a black hole separating them.

"Well..." Panther muttered, a grin crossing his lips, "Told ya I'd get her."

Wolf merely narrowed his gaze at the unconscious fox's body, wondering if she even knew what had happened.

"Is she even alive?" Leon asked, leaning forward and examining the vixen closely.

Panther chuckled and tossed her forward off his shoulder and into his arms. Wolf bit his lower lip as he looked over her body and took into count all the stab wounds and bruises that had been inflicted upon her. That, accompanied with the trial of blood that ran back to Panther's Wolfen made the lupine ask the same question himself. _Is she even alive?_

Only the slightest rise and fall of her chest signified that her heart was still beating at this point, every other part of her clearly representing death. Panther simply grinned and gave her a little shake, getting only a whimper of pain from the sapphire fox. It was as if Panther didn't care anymore, as if simply having possession of her was all he had ever wanted, in addition to her body for his own pleasure. Wolf was willing to bet that even if she did happen to die within the next hour from these injuries, which was very well possible at the pace Panther was going, that it wouldn't stop the black cat from getting the pleasure out of her body. Dead or alive.

_This is worse than I had expected. I had hoped Panther would come to his senses now that McCloud was dead and he had that fox, but it seems like its went in the other direction. He's lost the larger part of his sanity throughout all of this and someone is going to reap the consequences. _

Whether it was Panther or not he didn't know, and he couldn't really figure out why he cared. It wasn't like he felt sorry for the vixen...or did he? Pity was a feeling that he hadn't felt in more than 20 years, it was almost as if he had removed it from his emotions, focusing more on hate and anger in order to fuel his thoughts and actions. He looked up at Panther as the cat carried her off over his shoulder towards what Wolf hoped was the sickbay.

His eyes made their way down the vixen's back until they rested on her muzzle, a line of blood running down it and dripping onto the floor. Almost instantly the lupine's mind was thrown back to Corneria, standing in the alleyway behind an aircraft repair shop, blood dripping from his 17 year old claws as he looked down at their victim below him. His eyes met those of a black and white she-wolf, her brown eyes reflecting shock and fear back at him as he tried to find a reason for his actions.

Wolf looked down at his hand, trying to piece together what he had done to the one he had cared so much about. The scent of blood filled his nostrils and he slowly looked up towards their source, his gaze resting on the ugly slash he had left on her muzzle that was now oozing the red substance. Tears now filled her eyes as she continued to look up at him, the lupine struggling for words now more than ever. He didn't know what had came over him, nothing like this had ever happened before, he had never felt that way...

"Miya...I...

She shook her head, wiping away the tears that had begun to trickle down her face as she slowly got back up on her feet, ignoring the blood that dripped from her muzzle. She had never seen this side of him before. This wasn't the caring, sensitive lupine that she had been in love with for the last 3 years, not anymore. He had changed since joining the military, he no longer respected her the way he had before. And as if that wasn't enough, she could smell the alcohol and the scent of numerous of female wolves all over his body. No. He wasn't the Wolf O'Donnell she had fell in love with. All she had wanted now was for him to realize that somehow.

Well now he did. All that it took was a drunken, claw-led slap to the face of the only person he had truly ever cared about. Now reality began to set in, but it was too late. The damage was done, he had crossed the line. Things would never be the same again.

Tears now filled the lupine's eyes as the full effect of what he had done began to sink in. He wanted nothing more than to say he was sorry, to inflict all that pain he had caused her onto himself just to prove he still loved her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight, to forget about his juvenile friends and the military and the type of person they were turning him into. But all he could do was stare back into her hurt gaze, tears now running down his cheeks and dripping onto the blood covered paw by his side.

She took half a step forward before stopping and looking down, her foot resting on top of the puddle of blood that she had accumulated. Her only response was a sniffle as she fought back even more tears before continuing to walk past him, stopping at his side and bowing her head.

"I-I know you've changed...but...I still love you. I'll always love you."

He turned towards her but time had mislead his thoughts and he only managed to catch the tip of her tail as she ran out of the alley, leaving an emotionally destroyed lupine alone to drown in his sorrow. He remembers falling to his knees. He remembers crying his eyes out like a newborn kit. He remembers being found by one of his 'friends' where he was then ridiculed for the rest of the night. But worst of all, he remembers her mother deciding to move after the incident. He remembers watching their flight fade away under the horizon as the moved halfway across the planet, never to be seen again.

The lupine liked to believe that surviving all of that had made him stronger, that it put him through such an excruciating pain that anything else he would ever have to endure would pale in comparison and that, most importantly, he would never have to feel it again. But now, watching the blood drip from the vixen's muzzle he couldn't help but feel that knife reenter his heart, the tears stinging in his eyes as the image before him brought back a flood of unwanted memories.

Panther vanished behind the steel door, the vixen still slung over his shoulder, ridding Wolf of the image that he had so long tried to forget. But even with the vixen gone from his site he knew she had done her damage. It was then, with an unexplainable sea of emotions churning inside of him, that Wolf realized he had to do something.

_I can never fix what I did to you Miya, nor can I forget. It was only ten years ago but the pain still feels like it happened yesterday. So if I cant fix the mess I made in my past, then I should at least try to fix the mess I've made in my future. _

He didn't care the least about Fox or Panther, or even Krystal for that matter. All he seen when he looked at the sapphire vixen now was that grey she-wolf that had so preciously taken care of him all those years ago. Now he realized there was only one way he could ever right the wrong he had committed to her, even if it meant dying.

He had to save Krystal.

000

Author's Note: So there it is, Wolf see's Krystal and has a flashback of his one and only true love and how he ruined it. He then realizes that the only way he can make up for what he did to her was by preventing a similar fate for Krystal at the hands of Panther. Kind of short, but this is just a filler chapter I guess. It might be another month before I get another chapter typed because I too am in college as a junior (North Texas!) and I have a crap load of work to do myself.

Anyways, hope it didn't suck too bad, I know I'm a bit rusty.


	30. Alt 3

I'm back –

Chapter 3 of the Alternate Ending. 3 Days after the battle Fox is still recovering in the Cornerian Space Station, left to wonder where his friends are and if they survived. But most importantly, he's left wondering if Krystal is still alive and what she's being put through thanks to him.

000

There she was, her face sporting that adorable smile that could melt all of Fichina in seconds. Her sapphire fur brushed up against him and he took in her scent, running his hands down each side of her slender waist. The vixen gently giggled as she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and connecting their lips in an ever-passionate kiss. A growl of pleasure rumbled from his throat as he pushed back with his mouth, whil at the same time pulling her body on top of his as they fell back onto her bed.

But where there should have been a soft mattress connecting beneath him the vulpine felt a searing pain, his eyes flying open in shock and his mouth flying open in pain as he unsuccessfully tried to cry out. Krystal had dissapeared, her loving body replaced by a growing mass of blood forming in his chest and running out on either side of him. Once again he tried to cry out but it was as if his body was too occupied with his injury to put forth the effort, instead he brought his hands to his chest and tried to hold in the precious fluid that was running out of him.

The action caused him to vomit in pain and roll off what was once again a bed, now covered in blood. He landed face down on the floor and struggled to look towards the door in hopes of receiving some form of assistance. Panther was there now, standing above him holding the vixen by the throat in satisfaction. Her body was now covered in cuts and bruises and he couldn't tell if she was unconscious or dead, but it wouldn't matter either way for he would be in the same state within seconds.

The black cat got down on one knee where he was face to face with the fox, holding the vixen by her hair now like a rag doll as he grinned and darkly chuckled.

"You should have just left her with me the first time, at least then neither of you would've had to die."

He opened his mouth, attempting to voice the fiery hatred that was seething inside him, but only managed to cough out blood as the room began to fade to black. Panther laughed even harder now, content with all the pain and suffering he had been responsible for. He stood back up threw the vixen over his shoulder, her tattered body showing hardly any signs of life.

His eyes followed them out of the room, the final breaths of life now echoing through his body as he took one last glimpse at the love of his life. Yet just as they rounded the doorway he saw her emerald eyes rest on him, her mouth faintly whispering the three words that he didn't have to hear to know.

"I love you,"

Instantly his eyes flew open, his body rising up into a sitting position as he looked around the room. Sweat poured down his face and his heart pounded like crazy as the dream flew through his mind again and again. Tears had formed in his eyes and the pain in his chest felt all too much like it had just been inflicted. He felt around his mid region, checking for the cuts and injuries that he knew he had expecting blood to be everywhere around him.

Instead he met with reality. He was no longer on his flagship, he wasn't fighting for his life or coughing up blood as Panther stood before him with the one thing he couldn't live without draped over his shoulder like a trophy. His wounds were still there, he could feel them with every breath he took and every beat of his heart, which was just now beginning to slow down to its normal pace.

_It was just a dream, it didn't really happen. _

Then he froze, biting his lip and bowing his head. _No, it _did_ happen. It all happened just a few days ago. _

He was still in the recovery wing of the Cornerian Space Station, only 10 minutes from where GreatFox had been all but destroyed and Krystal had been kidnapped. As for Falco, Peppy, and Slippy, he still had no idea. They all could be dead, alive, or missing. He knew he should be worried about them as well, and he was, but it was nothing compared to his thoughts about her. Even in the shape he was when they had brought him in 3 days ago he had been fighting to get back to his ship and into an Arwing so he could save her.

That of course was insanity speaking. It was physically impossible for the vulpine to even walk much less pilot a ship, sneak into a space station full of soldiers whose sole mission was to kill him, and save the vixen he loved more than life itself. But he would have done it had he not been restrained and put under medication. Now he was alone, stuck in a hospital, left to wonder if all of his friends were dead or alive and if he'd have a place to go home to or not. No one had told him anything, probably because he hadn't been able to stay awake for more than a short period of time before falling back to sleep, where he was subjected to the same nightmare over and over again.

He sat up on the side of his bed and stared out the window to his right, not knowing what to do. Where he should have felt so many emotions running throughout him the vulpine only felt a depressing numbness that took over his body. The only thing that his mind could tell him was that he had lost. He had lost the fight against Panther, and in doing so he had lost the love of his life, his friends, and his ship. A part of him wanted to be grateful that he was even alive after all of this but he couldn't bring himself to allow it. He knew he had nothing to live for now so what was the point.

Without her, who did he have to live for?

_For all I know she isn't even alive. That bastard probably got what he wanted out of her then left her to die on her own._

Sickly he realized that, had Panther done that it would have been the best conclusion. At least then she wouldn't have to suffer. No, Panther wouldn't kill her and Fox knew it. He'd keep her alive for himself.

The vulpine clenched his fists and focused on trying to stay calm, but it wasn't working. How could he stay calm knowing the one person he had sworn to protect was being raped and tortured by his enemy. And it was all his fault! He had let her stay with them! He had assumed responsibility for everyone on his ship, including the vixen. Even before they had revealed their feelings to each other he had sworn to die before allowing any pain to come her way, and now, knowing that she loved him, it just made it all the harder to accept.

_I failed. _

Footsteps grew louder from behind him and the vulpine slowly turned his head, expecting a doctor or nurse to be there to tell him he needed to be lying down. Instead he was met face to face with the first friend he ever had. The blue avian held his gaze for a few seconds, not sure what to say, before finally sighing and sitting down before the vulpine, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"So you made it out of there as well huh?" Fox asked, turning his gaze back towards the window.

Falco nodded, "Yeah, old GreatFox really held her own. I half expected it to just collapse after taking a beating like that but apparently the damage wasn't nearly as bad as it looked."

_Finally some decent news. _

"And Peppy and Slippy?"

Once again Falco nodded, this time towards the window at the blue planet beneath them. "Corneria," he answered, "With Pepper and the ship making repairs. They're making extraordinary progress, every mechanic in the city is there working on the ship and Arwings."

"They weren't hurt?"

"Just a few scrapes and bruises."

"What about you?" the vulpine asked, noticing a bandage on the side of his neck.

Falco followed his gaze and rested a wing on the bandage, "It's nothing," he replied calmly, "Just a cut."

Fox could tell he was holding out on the 'actual' reason behind the injury but didn't bother pressing the subject any further, instead turning back towards the amazing view in the window yet again. He felt somewhat better, the knot in his stomach had loosened at the news of his friend's safety and the news about their ships. But regardless of how much 'good' news came his way he knew he'd never feel even relatively happy again unless he could have her in his arms once again.

"I'm sure she's alive."

Fox stiffened, his thoughts freezing as he tried to comprehend the reason behind Falco's words.

"I know Krystal," he continued, "She wont give up, not without one hell of a fight."

The vulpine slowly released the breath he had been holding in, the smallest of smiles tugging on his lips as he imagined the fierce, loving vixen that he had come to know. He knew Falco was right, that Krystal wouldn't give in to his will without fighting. But he also knew that she couldn't really put up a fight considering the shape she was in. As beaten and battered as she was when he had last seen her he found it hard to imagine the vixen putting up any kind of resistance of all other than verbal, and Panther would only laugh at her then.

_And would she even want to fight back?_

If she loved him anywhere near as much as he loved her, which he believed with all his heart that she did, then she wouldn't want to go on living thinking he was dead. _I felt that way...i still do. If she really is no longer...alive...i don't want to be either. I have nothing to live for without her. _

He could only hope she didn't feel the same way.

"That's one of the reasons I love her so much," he replied, a small chuckle making its way out. "She fights harder than me most of the time."

Falco replied with a chuckle of his own, gently patting the vulpine's back and standing up. "Well," he answered confidently, "Let me just say this. I know she's alive, and I know she'll stay alive. So don't worry about that."

Fox nodded, but on the inside he was screaming in anger. Of course he knew she'd be kept alive, but for reasons that no one would ever want to live for. Perhaps the _only _upside to this was that it meant he could try and save her again, but it would be after the 'damage' was done, and that infuriated him.

"So," Falco continued, changing the subject, "How are you feeling? Can you get around?"

_Compared to how I felt when I was brought in, right now I could fight an army for her. _

He stepped down off the bed, taking time to cautiously stretch his muscles, making sure that there weren't any serious injuries that needed to be seen to. The amazing advancements in medicine here on this station were limited to soldiers of Corneria and to them alone. The military had more closed doors than Pepper liked to mention, but the secret arsenal of information and technology came in handy while fighting a war and Fox was grateful for it. Had he been taken to a hospital on Corneria itself he would still in bed, unable to move from the blaster wound that had went through his stomach. But here however, with the best doctors the military had to offer and medicines that had yet to be release to the general public, his injuries where all but invisible, though still recognizable on the inside.

He even noticed his arm, the arm that had started all this at the canopy of an Arwing, was no longer in a sling and fully healed. Sure he still felt pain all over his body still, but he could move, he could fight and run, think clearly and act. He wasn't sure what it was that was being pumped into his body, but he had been a soldier once and he knew not to look into it. All that mattered was that he was back at fighting condition, and if he could fight then he could save her.

_But I'm still not ready. Maybe one more day. _

He had no intentions of going out and trying to rescue her only to be beaten again because he wasn't back to full strength. The next time he tried he would either bring her back or die. But either way he planned on Panther being dead in the end. The only way he could ever make him suffer for what he'd done, to make him feel the pain that he had made her feel, was to kill him. And the vulpine had every intention of doing so.

000

Author's Note: Hey guys, I finally got around to typing another chapter. I'm sorry it's been so long, I really wanted to work on the alternate ending more but I had RL stuff getting in the way so I pushed the first part of it to Raleigh. Anyways, there's the 3rd chapter of the Alternate ending. Fox is on the recovery, along with the team and their ships, but Panther still has Krystal with him. Its been 3 days though, and a lot could've happened in that time on Sargasso.

Sorry if its not the best, I hope I can make it better. R&R


	31. Alt 4

Author's Note: here, another Wolf chapter. Basically Wolf seen Krystal and it brought back memories of the wolf he once loved and lost, causing him to show a new side to us all that we had assumed he didn't have. But I mean c'mon, everyone has a past and few scars and Wolf is no exception. He once loved another, and now that those memories have returned we see a side of the lupine that has been hidden away from the StarFox world until now:

Oh and for the record I did not reread this piece so there are probably a few spelling errors or grammar mistakes. But work is calling at the moment so...i apologize.

000

The gray lupine stood alone on the bridge of Sargasso, his purple gaze aimlessly drifting out into the vast wall of space before him. His outward appearance was normal, he was still the Wold O'Donnell that was feared across the galaxy, a veteraned fighter and leader of StarWolf...or what was left of it. But on the inside he was nothing like he had once been. There the lupine was fighting a battle almost as fierce as the one they had been in days ago with StarFox.

_I shouldn't be thinking about her. Not now. Not this far ahead._

He had tried to shake the memory from his thoughts, to lock it away and never think of it again. But that seemed impossible now. Ever since that sapphire beauty had caught his eye, begging him to do something to help her, Wolf had been in a constant state of turmoil. He didn't see Krystal though, only Miya; the only other one that he had ever loved. Now, two days after the battle and Krystal's capture, he was still so torn up inside that he was forced to stay hidden away in his room at all times of the day.

_This is pathetic...I'm Wolf O'Donnell, the most feared mercenary in all of Lylat! Love is for the weak and helpless, it only holds us back. _

He clenched his fists and shook his head, knowing that wasn't true. He had seen the video of McCloud's rescue back on GreatFox. If anything love made one stronger than they could ever imagine. All McCloud needed was her. Just seeing her in danger, needing his help, it gave him strength that Wolf despised.

_Emotions like that are just for exploiting. They both love her and see what it has done? Countless lives have been lost, ships destroyed, rivals killed. Whatever strength they _can _get from loving her, it cant outweigh the weaknesses it exploits. _

"And I don't have those weaknesses," he murmured to himself, looking each direction to make sure he was still alone. "I learned my lesson a long time ago."

He sighed and stood up, having been leaning on the handrail, and stretched his back legs. Sure on the outside he was still the same, but on the inside he was still deciding what he would do the next time he saw the vixen. Just looking at her that one time was enough to bring back memories that were powerful enough to knock him down to his knees. It had taken all his self control to make it back to his room before unloading a barrage of fists into his wall, anger and tears flowing from his body as he remembered the same look that Miya had worn the last time he had seen her.

Wolf gritted his teeth, working his hardest to ignore the topic overall, a goal he had been trying to reach for years. He was back up in the living quarters now, not really paying attention to where he was going. Subconsciously he made his way towards the sick bay, picturing her face over and over again, wanting to see it just one more time.

_They don't look anything alike but...when I look at her, when I look at Krystal, she's all I can think of. _

The hardcore, emotionless side of Wolf O'Donnell was all but gone now, only visible through his appearance. He was disgusted at himself for allowing such an old memory to affect him this way, but try as he might he could not ignore it this time. _I just have to see her again. Maybe that will clear things up. _

The sick bay was open to all soldiers, wounded, injured, or just not feeling well. Yet Panther had set aside his own personal room for Krystal, away from the main wing of the ward where only he and the doctors were allowed to go. This time he was taking no chances.

_Whats it matter? For all we known the entire StarFox team is dead; and considering how you practically beat her to death you cant honestly expect her to escape on her own. _

He had wondered if Panther's suspicions were directed towards him or Leon, but figured it highly unlikely. The cat knew nothing of their treachery during the battle, not that it made a difference in the end, so he had nothing to be wary of. In all honesty Wolf believed that it was Panther's insanity that provoked such strict security of the vixen. After all that he had put into getting her back within his clutches Wolf knew that he would not let her escape again.

He slid into the main room of the sick bay, instantly greeted by the scent of blood and ammonia. He ignored the glances he received from the numerous inhabitants in there, instead heading straight across the room towards a single doorway, guarded on both sides by Venomian rhino soldiers. Without missing a beat the two rhinos lowered their blasters to their side, forming an 'X' in front of the lupine and preventing him from going any further.

Wolf closed his eyes and tried to keep his composure. Every fiber of his being told him to break their necks but he managed to refrain, knowing that he had to play it cool if he planned on getting what he wanted. He stepped back and looked up at the rhino on the left, matching his gaze for only a few seconds before causing him to look away.

"Uh, sorry sir...but...Panther's orders."

Wolf said nothing, simply looking now to his right and catching the other guards gaze now.

"Y-yeah..." he stuttered, "He said he'd kill us if we allowed anyone in here except him."

Wolf couldn't help but grin at this. The fact that Panther had managed to provoke so much fear into these two brutes was both impressive and concerning. But Wolf knew that it was all talk now. He had what he wanted and no longer derived all that strength from hatred, only insanity. Without Fox to rival him Panther had no reason to focus on anything but the vixen. Installing fear into the troops that were still under his control was just insurance in case something else went wrong.

_Which it will. _

"And who do you think Panther takes his orders from?" the lupine asked calmly, looking back at the first rhino now, noticing he had one more chevron than the other.

"...uh...A-Andross?"

_Amazing how easily I got under their skin. Panther chose his guards based on their outward appearance rather than their capability. Perhaps he's just lost it now that its over and done with. _

"Me." Wolf replied coldly, "And this space station is under my command when I'm on it, understand?"

The two guards exchanged a nervous glance, still not sure what to do. Apparently Panther's threat had seemed pretty legit to the two soldiers. _Of course, if he's as crazy as I believe him to be then he wouldn't hesitate before killing these two. _

"So either let me through or Iwill kill you both where you stand."

The higher ranking rhino had heard enough. He knew what Wolf was capable of and he figured that if he had to fight either him or Panther he'd pick Panther. Looking over at the other guard he sighed, shrugged, and raised his blaster. The other followed suit, turning around to follow the lupine as he made his way down the short hallway.

"I will not need an escort." Wolf added, stopping and glancing at them from the corner of his eye.

"S-sir I...

Wolf straightened up and rested his hand on the blaster by his side. "You may be behind me but I guarantee I can put a shot into both your skulls before either of you can turn the safety off on your weapons." A short silence ensued before the higher ranking guard muttered something under his breath, turning around and making his way back towards the first doorway, his partner following suit.

_Easy enough. _

He looked ahead through the dimly lit hallway. At the end there was a doorway that led to the room she was in. He had been back here a few times himself, usually because he was the one being tended to. It was the private wing of the sick bay that only the highest ranking personnel on Sargasso were allowed to use. Panther however, was using it for a different reason.

Continuing forward he pricked his ears, listening for any sounds of movement ahead of him. He wasn't sure why he had to see her, maybe it was just so he'd know she was okay. Maybe that would ease the guilt and remove some of the memories that continued to stab him in the heart. Either way he knew there was no stopping now. This was something he had to do.

He laid his hand on the activation pad, allowing it to scan and match his ID before unlocking the door. Slowly he pulled back on the door, his heart racing as he stepped inside, his eyes instantly falling upon the sapphire vixens body.

_Oh god..._

000

(Switch POV)

000

4 hours after the battle

"How the hell is she still alive?"

"I have no idea."

"I mean, look at all those stab wounds. And the broken ribs, the fractured ankle...and all that blood...I mean...how did her heart not just give out?"

"Maybe its a Cerenian thing."

"Well whatever it is its a gift."

"You think Panther did this to her?"

"Probably. The way he carried her in here like that, tossing her down like she was a sack of potatoes, leads me to believe he played a big part in it."

"And what about those syringes? Still any idea what was in those?"

"No. My guess is some type of drug that helps the healing process. But there was something odd about them. Especially considering that they were from the Cornerian Military's labs."

"Well they appear to be helping."

"Yes they do...much faster than I'd have ever believed."

"So...you think she'll make it?"

"Yes. But something tells me it might not be for the better."

"What do you mean."

"...nothing. Just a thought."

The voices reached her semiconscious mind but that was as far as the vixen's mind would function. Comprehending what they were saying was still impossible right now, but it told her one thing. She was alive. She didn't know where she was, or who had brought her here, those thoughts had yet to return to her yet, but she knew she was alive. Whether or not that was a good thing was still undetermined.

000

24 hours after the battle.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Excuse me sir?"

"Did I tell you to put this on her?"

"B-but sir, her wounds have healed enough, we can move her now. Put clothes on her, clean her bed and sheets!"

The sound of a body hitting the floor followed by that of someone gasping for air reached her senses now and she struggled to regain consciousness, wanting to see what was going on around her. Yet her body was still too drugged up and tattered. Recovery was lacking and her mind wouldn't allow any sense other than that of sound to work at this point. She knew that voice though, it was smooth yet hateful, sparked by anger and lust. It sounded so familiar to her yet she couldn't tag it to its owner. Her mind was just far too blurry.

There was the sound of cloth being torn and it seemed as if her body was being pulled upward for a moment before being released back onto the bed, the cloth now being tossed onto the floor.

"Your job is to make sure she is in perfect condition for me, that is all. Do not treat her like she is a guest. Treat her as my property."

So many questions ran through her mind yet the vixen simply couldn't focus on any of them, her mind already exhausted from trying to decipher the conversation she had just heard. All she managed to do was slip back into sleep, the drugs being shot into her body combined with the still aching bruises and cuts she had overwhelming her once again.

000

48 hours after the battle

She sensed the presence enter the room before hearing it, assuring her that her body was almost completely healed once again. But if that were the case then why couldn't she wake up? And for that matter, why couldn't she remember where she was and how she had gotten there? It was scary to some extent, knowing you were asleep and not being able to wake up, but Cerenians had mastered that ability centuries ago. Only this time it was as if she couldn't leave her meditative trance, and in addition couldn't remember how she had entered it in the first place.

Whoever had entered the room was beside her now, standing over her sleeping body. She had no idea who it could be, mainly because at this point she couldn't remember anyone's name other than her own. But so badly she wanted to scream at whoever it was, telling them she was awake on the inside just not on the outside. Yet this coma like state prevented her from doing anything other than sitting there and waiting for whoever it was to speak or make a move.

But for the longest time there was nothing but silence, faint beating of the creature's heart the only sound reaching her.

She had began to think that maybe she was asleep again but finally it spoke, causing her to jump at the closeness of its voice to her face.

"I'm sorry."

The voice was rough and deep and she knew that she had heard it before. The face and name that accompanied the voice were on the edge of her thoughts but, like everything else, she failed to remember either. After a few more seconds he sighed and leaned forward, resting his hands on the side of the bed, followed by another period of silence before he finally spoke again.

"I didn't mean to hurt you..." he muttered softly, "That was the last thing I wanted to do."

_Is he talking to me? He sounds so sad, but that doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem like this guy is supposed to be like this. _

She felt a paw rest upon her own, gently squeezing before letting out a sigh.

"I don't know what I'm doing. There's no way she knows I'm saying this."

Another long period of silence ensued, this one longer than all the other combined. It must have been ten minutes before the male spoke again.

"I still love you Miya."

Then the surprising thing happened as she felt a mouth meet her own, gently and lovingly kissing the vixen. Her mind was instantly awakened, soaring back through time and space until she was on Corneria, looking through they eyes of who she now knew was Wolf O'Donnell as he held a black and white she-wolf in his arms, standing outside in the pouring rain, never wanting to let go. Then time flew forward again, she was looking down at the she-wolf's naked body, her face filled with love and ecstasy as the two showed their love for each other. And finally she was looking down at the same she-wolf, her muzzle dripping with blood, her eyes filled with tears and sorrow as she ran by him, leaving a wound inside Wolf that seemed like would never heal.

Then her eyes flew open and she was back in the sickbay, her muzzle still connected with Wolf's as he kissed, not Krystal, but Miya. Everything came back to her, the malfunction with Slippy's ship, being forced to join Panther after the ambush, Fox rescuing her, the battle, her lover's tattered body lying on the floor by her own, both covered in blood, and now this.

She had been brought back to Sargasso with Panther. Whether Fox was alive or not she didn't know. The same could be said for all of her friends. A sick feeling took over her body as the memories returned to her but at the moment she could only focus on one thing as the lupine slowly pulled away.

Instantly their gazes locked and surprise overtook him, causing him to stand up immediately and back away in embarrassment.

"I-I thought you were asleep. I...

000

Author's Note: Yeah I know Wolf isn't the emotional type based on the game's portraying of him, but this is Fan fiction and in my story Wolf has some serious scars that, once reopened, can bring him to his knees. Everyone has a background story, whether its stated or we make it up ourselves. That's where I'm going with this anyway. I hope it wasn't that bad of a chapter, I'm not working on it as much as I intended but at least I'm still adding pieces to it every now and then.


	32. Alt 5

Author's Note: Okay, I really wanted to get another chapter out for this story (oh who am I kidding I dreaded typing this!) but I couldn't just leave this story dead in the water. I mean, technically the story is done and this is just the alternate ending, but this ending puts a new focus on things and I present a side and history to Wolf O'Donnell that no one has ever seen before (and I hope it catches on) so at least that's something right? Well I know this chapter is short, but in a nutshell, Wolf opens up to Krystal thanks to the memories and news of his first love that he has kept locked away all these years. Now the lupine is prepared to do whatever it takes to repay the debts he owes to both Miya and Krystal, and that means helping her escape Sargasso before its too late.

000

She struggled into a sitting position, taking a deep breath and allowing her mind to settle. There was one thing about those memories with Wolf that the vixen had to remind him of, regardless of her current situation. Looking up over at him she almost wanted to laugh at his surprised expression, but managed to keep it to a smirk.

"Wolf..." she said strongly. "She forgives you. Miya forgives you."

He stood there for a second, his gaze slowly softening as the words sank in. Finally he just closed his eyes and fell back against the wall, sliding down to the ground and resting his head on his hands. He had been waiting to hear that for far too long. Instantly the burden that he had suffered all these years was finally lifted from him and that pain that been inside him finally vanished. The vixen instantly noticed the change and couldn't help but smile, easing herself off the side of the bed and limping over to where he sat.

"She still loves you too," she added, searching deeper into the mind of the she-wolf.

The lupine's fists clenched as he slowly rose, doing his best to hold back the tears. _Finally _the answers had been given to him! The weight that had been lifted off his conscious put him under the impression that he could take on the entire galaxy if need be.

He now realized he was wrong. Love was something that gave you unimaginable strength yes, but the weaknesses that came with it were not in fact weaknesses, only trials that, once overcame, made you even more stronger. That was how it was with Fox and this vixen. Both of them had been on the verge of death but somehow lived through it. He hadn't heard anything about McCloud but something on the inside told the lupine that Fox was still out there, and would always be there while she was alive.

"And she misses you so bad it hurts." the sapphire vixen added, bringing a smile to Wolf's face.

He looked up at her and couldn't help but laugh, something he hadn't done, with good intentions, in years. She couldn't help lightly respond with her own, and then, much to her surprise, the lupine wrapped his arms around her neck, holding her close and sniffling back tears.

"Thank you for that," he whispered, "I've been waiting for it for far too long now."

Krystal merely smiled and gave him a friendly nod as he pulled away and took a deep breath, immediately throwing her paws over her naked body until she found time to rip the sheets off her bed and cover herself, getting a chuckle from Wolf.

"Now lets get down to business." he added, his tone once again back to its usual low growl. "We both know what Panther is going to do to you when he gets the chance, and to be honest I cant stand the thought of it."

_So he really _can _be a good guy. He's just hid it all this time. _

"It's all he's ever wanted," she replied, thinking back to the first time she met the black cat and remembering the lustful thoughts that had instantly flooded his mind, "But...what's it matter anymore. My friends, and Fox...

"No," the lupine interrupted with a growl, "Don't think like that. I've been listening for reports of _anything _concerning your team and I haven't heard of any casualties other than those of Venomian soldiers,"

The vixen couldn't help but feel a spark of hope somewhere deep inside at this, "So they're okay?"

Wolf sighed and looked at the floor, checking down the hall once more before responding, "Don't misinterpret me," he replied, "I said I've only heard of whose been killed, not found. But..." he added after seeing the look of disappointment on her face, "If I know Fox, that stubborn son of a bitch will give it all he's got before giving up."

Krystal couldn't help but smile and nod in agreement, knowing this was true from her own first hand experience. She knew what Fox was willing to go through, to suffer and endure just to protect the ones he loved, except this time he was asked to do the impossible, to fight off an army, to get shot over and over, beaten and stabbed, just to protect her. She knew what Fox would go through to protect her, but she was afraid this time it had just been too much for even him to handle.

_But I cant give up hope. Not until I know for a fact that he's...dead. Because if he's still alive then I still have a reason to live. _

"So..." Wolf muttered, running his gaze across the vixen's still bruised shoulder, "How far do you think you can get in your current state?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, not bothering to look into his thoughts.

"Well," he continued, sitting down in the chair by the doorway, "Panther just about kills you, then uses medicine he stole from a Cornerian military base to heal you back to health within a few days, and I think its safe to assume he has done this for a reason wouldn't you agree?"

It felt weird talking to Wolf like this, actually having a conversation, even if it was concerning her getting raped by an insane cat within the next day or two. The lupine couldn't figure it out either, he usually never just sat down and talked like this about something, preferring to keep to his thoughts and think it out. But there was something about this vixen, after kissing her and seeing the love of his life one more time in her eyes that changed him.

"What are you saying Wolf?"

The lupine looked up towards the back corner of room, the vixen following his gaze and resting on the small black object that she finally realized to be a video camera.

"He's watching us," Wolf muttered, "But the sound is disabled so he cant hear what we say. What I'm saying is this: Do you want me to help you escape?"

The sapphire fox leaned against the bed and met Wolf's gaze, not sure how to answer. There was still a part of her that didn't want to trust her lover's arch enemy, but after all she had seen and done with the lupine, the way his attitude has so drastically changed towards her, she couldn't help but admit that, other than Fox, she trusted him more than anyone else in the galaxy.

_He wont betray me, I feel it in my heart. Wolf has changed, hes different now. _

Yet her answer still came as a surprise to them both.

"I don't know."

He narrowed his gaze at her, doing his best to read the expression that her face portrayed but getting nothing but depression and sadness in return.

"It's not a difficult choice."

"I know!" she exclaimed angrily, fighting back tears, "But whats the point in escaping if Fox is...is...

"But what if he's not?"

"But we don't know that."

"So why don't you just take a chance and find out from the other side of this wall?" he asked, nodding towards the window. "Listen Krystal, Panther isn't the stuck up child he was a few months ago, he's changed to such an extent that I honestly don't know him any more."

"What are you saying?"

Wolf looked down the hall once again before responding, now with a sense of urgency in his voice, "The only reason he hasn't already had his way with you is because he wants you in peak physical condition. He wants you to put up a fight so he can break you in the worst possible way."

The vixen bit her lip and pulled tighter at the bedsheets she still had wrapped around her but Wolf kept on, "He doesn't see you anymore Krystal, all he sees is an object of desire, and now that he has it in his hands he's going to play with it until it breaks."

"Afterward you can still escape, but when you'll have the chance I don't know. That's the sick part, Panther told me and Leon all this, he bragged about how much shit he had planned for you, days upon days of you playing his games and satisfying him to no end."

"You've got to understand," Wolf added still, now whispering in a quick tone as the door at the end of hallway began to open, "It's not Panther anymore, he no longer loves you. He hates you, and once he gets a hold of you I'm not sure even Fox could save you."

_I knew all of this, but hearing someone say it out loud, hearing Wolf say it, now I truly understand. Even if Fox is...gone...he wouldn't want me to give up._

Slowly she nodded at the lupine, accepting his offer to escape and receiving a relieved look in response.

"Just act as sick and weak as possible," he replied, footsteps now at the door beside him. "I'll come back for you, I promise."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the door open, Two doctors and one of the guards entering, Krystal lying back down on the bed just before they arrived.

"Uh...Mr. O'Donnell, sir, General Panther has requested your presence on the bridge, and its time for the doctor's to give another checkup." the rhino was stuttering in nervousness as the lupine silently made his way past him, looking back at the vixen one last time and catching only a bit of the doctor's conversation before the door closed behind him.

"Maybe one more day, at the most, I'd say we...

Wolf narrowed his gaze and made his way down the hall, trying to figure out how his talk with Panther would go. _That's General Panther. General my ass. _

_Don't worry Krystal, I'll do something. You've helped me, more than you'll ever believe, now I've got to return the favor. For you, and for Miya. _

000

Author's Note: Yeah yeah its a little short but I've been busy working on my other story PLUS school and job related crap. To be honest this story wasn't getting hardly any feedback at all after I finished the regular storyline so I felt hardly no rush at all getting the next chapters out. That and a lack of motivation contributed to the once a month task that is updating this story.

Anyways, you can see I'm really changing up the usual personality that Wolf is seen with, throwing in some feelings and memories thanks to Krystal. Perhaps I'll get the next chapter out within a month but we'll see how that goes depending on the number of reviews I get. For now I think I'll just go to sleep since its 3am. Oh btw, I did not review this chapter for grammar mistakes. Why? Because its 3am! Nighty night.


	33. Alt 6 Mature

Disclaimer: Mature chapter. Very mature, and dark and weird.

Author's Note: What the hell is wrong with me? This is supposed to be an alternate ending where Panther wins and here I am setting it up to go the other way once more. I guess the Krystal/Fox fan in me just doesn't want to type out a chapter in which Panther gets what he wants, but I told you guys I would and if nothing else I'm not a liar. If you were happy with the original ending where everything works out and Panther loses (dies actually) then you should have stopped reading. However if you wanted to see an ending where Panther got what he wanted then you're probably still reading this wondering what the fuck I'm doing setting it up like this.

Truth is I kind of got confused and focused too much on the Wolf O'Donnell back story and made it look like he was going to save Krystal before Panther had his way with her. But that's not how the story is supposed to go, at least the alternate ending version anyway, so for the past few weeks Raleigh747 has been writing this chapter. Well technically I wrote it but he looked it over and beta read it for me, then he told me that we HAD to let Panther win, so I told him he could do it because I just didn't feel like I could write it.

So without further procrastination I present the next chapter of the alternate ending of For Her.

Panther's Pleasure

000

"I did it once I can do it again."

"That's bullshit logic Fox!"

The vulpine narrowed his gaze at Peppy, almost allowing the shock within him to surface at the rabbit's use of profanity. But it wasn't out of anger that his father-figure swore, it was out of fear and desperation. But it wouldn't stop him and they both knew it. He had been cooped up inside that recovery wing rotating around Corneria for nearly a week now and every second had been like hell to him. Not because the drugs that were being shot into his body from military officials were doing their job painfully well, but because he knew that every second he remained here was a second Krystal remained with Panther.

_I'm going to kill him. It doesn't matter if he lays a finger on her now, I'm going to kill him._

The promise he made to himself was at fault and he knew it. Panther had most definitely laid a finger on the blue vixen by this time, in fact he had probably raped her and had his way with her time and time again, something that he had promised the vulpine he would do as he pulled the blaster from his stomach and let him fall to the ground. But the realization that it had happened, that the vixen he loved so damn much was being subjected to such acts as those, it drove him mad, it made him clench his fists in rage until his own claws drew blood from his palms.

He had been released from the space station's medical wing only an hour ago, having went straight to GreatFox down on Corneria and grabbing all the ammunition he'd need before jumping into the cockpit of his Arwing. Now, as Peppy tried to talk some sense into him, he realized that only an hour or so of flight kept him from Krystal, and he had no intention of waiting any longer. Not as long as Panther had her.

_He doesn't love her, he just wants her body. He wants to defile her and use her for his own pleasure...god damnit! I'll kill him! I'll rip his fucking throat open!_

"Sargasso is nothing like it was last time you snuck aboard!" Peppy yelled from the ground below, "I don't care how great of a pilot or fighter you think you are Fox! You can not do this alone!"

"I don't see anyone offering to help me." he replied darkly, flipping on the controls and powering up the ship. "Besides, this is my fight not theirs."

"You'll get yourself killed if-

He threw the headset down into the cockpit floor and gripped the controls tighter, imagining Panther's throat in their place. He knew he was outnumbered but that wasn't anything new. The only difference this time was that he had a reason to die that mattered. This wasn't for the war, this wasn't for himself or the team or anything else.

This was for Krystal.

_I'm coming for you Krystal. Just hang in there. _

000 A/N: This isn't like me to write something this mature and dark, but its the story and this IS the alternate ending. If you wanted a happy ending then you should have stopped earlier.

000

_Finally. It took...so long. It took so much effort. But finally..._

Part of the black cat's cynical thoughts knew that the only one to blame for him having to wait so long was, ironically, himself. He had wanted the vixen in perfect condition for when he finally enjoyed the spoils of his victory but that had taken nearly a weeks time, only because he had practically killed her during the attack.

_But it had felt so good. Punching her and stabbing her, it had all felt so...good..._

"But this will be so much better." he muttered to himself, looking down at the sleeping cerulean fox before him and smirking.

He had drugged her the night before just for this occasion. She was ready now, the damage he had inflicted was all but gone at this point and all that remained was to enjoy his nice, healthy prize as much as he wanted, any way he wanted. He knew Wolf had been talking to her, what about he wasn't sure but he had guess so something had been already done something about that little problem to ensure it never happened again. Other than Wolf though he was sure the vixen had seen no one or nothing other than the small room and doctors behind masks that had been injecting her with the 'right stuff.'

_If the serum works then there wont be any trouble getting her on her knees, but if it doesn't then I guess I'll just have to use force. _

It didn't strike him odd at all that most of his brain was hoping the serum _didn't _work, so that he could enjoy the task of breaking her down until she gave in to him, so that he could see the look of defeat and shame in her eyes as she realized he owned her now and that there was never going to be an escape. Not with Fox dead. After that fight on GreatFox, the shot from the blaster, he knew, she knew, he couldn't have lived through it.

His impatience got the best of him and he couldn't help but fall forward onto the vixen, only a moan escaping her as the drugs continued to hold her unconscious. But that was okay, he could wait, he had waited this long so what were a few minutes more? He leaned down and took her breast in his mouth, his fake teeth roughly biting down on her tender nipple as he continued to try and rouse her from her slumber.

_Yet another reminder of how much I'm going to make you pay for what he did to me. _

Knocking out the black cat's teeth wasn't anywhere near the only reason he had for doing this, but from now on, every time he ate or drank he'd feel the difference and remember the festering hate he had for the vulpine. But at least now he had a form of stress relief, something that he could take it out on until his anger resided and was overwhelmed with pleasure.

She let out another cry of pain as he bit down even harder, his sharp teeth taking the tip of her breast and pulling it down. The cat couldn't help but laugh in satisfaction as he seen blood slowly trickle from the tender area, immediately focusing his attention on the other with the same intentions in mind. Once more her slurred cries of pain filled the room as he only exhibited the foreplay portion of his game. This time however her moans were louder and he could feel the vixen's heartbeat slowly increase as she was pulled into consciousness.

He sat up on her stomach and looked down, already giddy with excitement as he looked over her naked, restrained body. He would get his revenge here and now.

"Wakey wakey," he whispered, leaning down beside the vixen, "You wouldn't want to sleep through this."

Her eyes had only started to open before he thrust his mouth against hers, forcing her maw open as he ran his tongue down her throat and enjoyed the taste of his trophy. Her eyes widened in surprise as the last of sedatives wore off and she became aware of the situation. Almost instantly the chains around her arms clashed tight as she tried to fight him, getting nothing but pain in response as he bit down on her tongue. The look in her eyes drove him over the line and suddenly kissing wasn't enough anymore, he had to do more to her.

He jerked away, catching the line of saliva between them with his finger and licking it free.

"Delicious," he said softly, allowing his paws to fall to her breasts, still bloody from his earlier assaults.

"No!" she cried, her voice harboring both pain and fear as he squeezed the swollen nubs. "You can't do this! You-

He never let her finish, his paw leaving her breast and connecting with the side of her face, an amazing feeling of pleasure overtaking him as he struck the beautiful fox. Before she could even try to respond to it he fell forward, connecting their lips once again while still painfully pinching her breasts. Despite all of this he could already feel the arousal making its way across her body, meaning the serum he had injected her with was working. He wouldn't have to work against her long, because she'd be begging him for it soon.

His paw forcefully grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her mouth deeper into his own while his other hand made its way down her stomach and to her passage. He couldn't help but chuckle as he felt the heat coming from her as she pulled her ankles against the chains in an attempt to close off her personal place. But resistance was futile and at this point he figured even she knew it. Why she was still struggling was a mystery to him. She knew she had lost, she had known all along this was going to happen. It wasn't like someone was going to save her.

Whatever it was that kept the vixen fighting against him, he knew it wouldn't last much longer, not when the drugs kicked in.

Without hesitating he thrust a finger up her channel, growling in satisfaction at the desperate cry of help that she managed to moan as he continued to force his mouth over hers. He allowed a second, then third finger to slide up inside her, pulling out of the kiss and laughing in response as she cried out in ecstatic pain.

"God! No! No stop! You can't...do...this...

A cocky laugh escaped him as the vixen tried to plea only to have her own moans of pleasure overtake her attempts as he slid a fourth finger into her slot, spreading her wider than she had ever been. Still though this felt like nothing compared to what he wanted to do to her. Only the realization that he had the rest of his life with her gave him the reassuring comfort that he'd be able to try out anything he wanted on her.

"What's wrong my love?" he asked, pulling out the fingers and holding them in front of her face, the vixen's arousal running down his fingers as he turned his hand over and ginned, "Do you want me to stop? Is that it?"

The look in her eyes screamed yes but he knew she wouldn't say it. Not now. Her own excitement had triggered the hormonal injection he had put inside her, even if she wanted to stop she couldn't. Not at this point.

After getting no answer from her other than a disgusted, ashamed look, he merely shrugged and stepped back, dropping the shorts he had been wearing before resuming his position on the vixen's chest. Her eyes widened in surprise as she guessed what he wanted her to do, but to his surprise she didn't falter in the least, the serum now putting the blue fox in a state of ecstasy she had never experienced before. The black cat merely grinned in approval as she leaned forward and took him in her mouth, wasting no time in wrapping her tongue around his member as she worked more and more of his length down her throat.

_That's right bitch, do as you're told. You may be enjoying the introduction but that serum wont last forever and I'll soon show you just how much fun we can really have, pain and all._

The look in her eyes was a distant one, almost lifeless and hypnotized, an effect from the hormones injected into her. She wasn't Krystal anymore and a part of him knew that, but that was the part that he had locked away into a corner and thrown away the key. That was the old Panther Caruso, the Panther that had truly been in love with Krystal, that would have respected her and given her anything she wanted. But that side of him was dead now, only a memory to those who had the pleasure of knowing it. Now, looking down at the drugged, naked blue fox below him, her head buried over his member as she struggled to please him, all he saw was Krystal pleasing him, and that's all he wanted.

He planned on doing so much to her, having drugged himself up as well to make that a reality. So he held nothing back. Within the next minute he threw his hands around her head, forcing every single inch of himself into her mouth and down her throat, not caring if she could breath or not as long as he could bury his length inside of her as he reached his first peak. Her gagging only made him laugh, the vixen unable to fight him with her arms and legs still chained to the bed as he forced her to swallow every drop until he finally jerked himself free.

_Yes... _

The look of shock faded from her eyes as the serum continued to take effect, overriding the vixen's well-being and focusing only on the fire that raged within her legs as the lust and ecstasy controlled every single thought and action she made. It had reprogrammed even her powerful mind, the hormones overwhelming her and telling her brain to focus on only one thing and that was pleasure, and doing anything she could to receive it.

Still the look in her eyes screamed despair and shame, a small spark of the Krystal from before trying to fight against the ocean that was her own body and its lust. But he knew she'd lose, at least she would until the serum finally wore off in the next half hour or so. But that would be more than enough time. In fact, there was no limit on time, only the amount of time he'd have with her in this state, ready and willing to please him. After this she'd fight him again, after this he'd get to beat her down and get physical with her on a whole new level, but until then...

"...stick...stick it in..." she panted, her whole body shaking in heat, the hormones driving her crazy with arousal, begging for something to please their massive hunger for pleasure.

Her eyes rested on his limp tool and a cynical grin fell over his face as he knew he had her under his thumb. She'd do anything for him now, just to have his sex. If Fox was alive right now, she'd kill him, if Cerenia was still in tact, she'd blow it up again, just to satisfy the raging inferno that was between her legs. He knew he had used an insane amount of the serum, way more than the doctor's had advised, but it had been a risk he was willing to take, one that he knew he couldn't pass by.

"Here," he said darkly, stepping up to her again and letting himself fall in front of her muzzle, "Maybe, just maybe I'll do it. But first you've got to-

He took in a sharp breath of pleasure as the vixen cut him off, once again taking the cat into her maw and working him back to full length, her eyes screaming 'no' but everything else in her body screaming 'yes.' After a minute or so he pulled away, loving the moan of desperation that escaped her as his paw brushed along her channel. She was like a bomb right now, ready to explode at the slightest touch. But he had prepared for that as well and he considered this the most amazing part of his plan so far.

He knew she was ready to climax but it would never happen. It was his own personal twist to the serum that he had made before injecting it. No matter how high and high she got on the feeling she would never climax, her ecstasy would only increase further and further, driving her to the brink of insanity. By the time he finished she'd be delirious from the state of ecstasy she was in, it would be like nothing she had ever felt before, and would ever feel again. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how long he had his way with her, she would never climax.

Not until the serum wore off.

_I told you I'd get you. And now I have._

Without giving her any warning at all the cat slammed himself into the vixen's channel, her stomach instantly arching up in pain and exaltation at the feeling of his entire length filling up her tight passage. Her drugged state of mind knew this was all it would take for her to finally feel the sweet release she had been praying for, yet as the hot feeling in her stomach continued to grow and burn with every thrust she slowly realized that her climax wouldn't peak. Seconds turned into minutes and her lust driven state of madness only worsened with every thrust as the feeling in her stomach tightened further and further, the state becoming unbearable, past the state of enjoyment and into one of torture and unbelievable sickness.

He laughed in joy as her head tossed side from side, her eyes now only begging him to do something, anything to make the feeling in her stomach end, to allow the pressure inside her to release so she wouldn't be driven insane from it. But he only pounded into the fox harder, enjoying every single second of the vixen's ecstatic torture, loving the tears that ran down her face as he continued to cupped her breasts and enjoyed playing with his new toy.

_This is nothing compared to what we'll do in the future my love. You'll be wishing for this before I'm through with you. _

Fifteen minutes of nonstop pleasure from him only seemed to send her over the edge ever further and he couldn't help but growl in excitement at the almost lifeless look in her eyes at this point. She had began to thrash what little she could five minutes in, the pain and ecstasy bottled within her growing and growing to the point where she simply couldn't take it anymore, yet still the serum held true and prevented any relief at all. Finally ten minutes or so in she ran out of energy and could only cry out in pleasure filled cries of agony as the knot inside her stomach slowly spread further and further up her body.

Now her mouth hung open as she panted in a desperate attempt to simply keep breathing through the unbearable feeling inside her. Tears still ran down her face but no sound other than the moan of pleasure accompanied them as they ran from her dull, begging eyes. He knew the serum was about to wear off and when it did he could only wonder if she'd be able to take it when it finally happened. But he honestly didn't care. Just as long as he had her he could care less how she felt about anything, good or bad. He'd do whatever he wanted to with her.

Her cries became louder and he realized that the hormones were reaching their own peak as well, a result of their ending phase inside the vixen. A faint look of pleasure accompanied the agony that had been residing inside her gaze and he could only grin to himself as he realized his new toy was ready to pop. He himself was on the brink of releasing as well but he could wait for her, he wanted to see this, to see how she took so many bottled up orgasms at once. It was something that he couldn't be outside of.

"Do you want me to keep going?" he asked cruelly, pulling out to the tip and pausing, "Or should I stop?"

The sweat covered vixen panted in dismay, her eyes and body begging him to finish what he had started, knowing that if she was left this close to finally releasing this monster inside her she'd end up dying from the pain. It was hardly ecstasy anymore to her and they both knew it. Maybe at first it had been great, but now it was just agonizing. Every thrust he made continued to drive her up a little more, still not being allowed to enjoy the sweet release that her body begged for.

The look in her eyes was priceless and it was what he had been wanting to see ever since day one. She wanted him more than anything else right now. Her whole world revolved around him pleasing her right now, that was it, and that was all the motivation he'd need.

He leaned forward and kissed her, loving the saliva that ran down her muzzle as she continued to beg him to just finish it, to end the torture once and for all.

"Well?" he asked after pulling away and still not getting an answer.

"Keep...going...keep...fucking me...please...

A smirk ran across his face as the words left her mouth and he wasted no time in heeding her request, taking a deep breath and once more slamming himself deep into the vixen's tight channel. Her arms and legs pulled on the chains in disbelief at the feeling that overtook her and he watched her feet clench and paws form fists as she screamed out in pain-filled lust. It wasn't until now that he had noticed her stomach had swelled from retracting those numerous orgasms her body had tried to release, and he seen it rise even more as her climax finally reached it's peak.

He felt her passage tighten around him as they both reached their peaks, the vixen having an unimaginable feeling overtake her entire body as the past half hour's agonizing torture finally exited her body in sweet relief. Panther couldn't believe the feeling either, falling forward and not noticing the amazing feat of strength that overtook the vixen from the climax as she broke the chains around her limbs from the bed, her back arching far into the air as climax after climax exited her.

Nearly a minute later she fell silent, her body still heaving in exhaustion as it tried to recover from the act it was just subjected to. The serum was gone from her now and she realized all to easily what her body had just done and who it had done it to, but for some reason it didn't seem to matter anymore. She was trapped, she had lost, and now Panther had gotten the one last thing she had wanted to keep from him, and it still wasn't anywhere over.

He remained below her, panting as well as he slowly pulled himself from her and scoffed in satisfaction.

"Not bad for starters." he muttered, looking up at her and realizing he was speaking to the normal Krystal now, "But we're nowhere near done, I've got much more-

"That's enough Panther."

The cat froze and instantly turned towards the door, a look of slight annoyance on his face as he realized who their intruder was.

"Wolf," he started, sliding his shorts on, "You look like you've been a fight. Everything okay?"

The lupine stepped forward, the new light allowing them both to see him in his rugged form.

"Yeah I'm fine," he answered, not looking away from Panther, "But a word of advice," he continued, sticking his hand out, "Next time you try to get rid of me don't send a group of pigs to do the job."

He opened his hand and allowed the red skull patch that the most elite soldiers of Venom wore on their uniforms to fall to the ground. Not just one though, one after one they fell to the floor until there were nearly a dozen sitting in a pile in front of a still annoyed looking Panther Caruso.

"Money can only buy soldiers that are so good I suppose." the cat replied, shaking his head in disappointment. "So what now? Are you here to rescue her? Are you going to try and stop me after all of this?"

Wolf held his gaze for a moment, his body spotted in blood that no one, not even himself, was sure belonged to. He knew what he was doing was crazy, but he didn't care. Krystal was more to him, was more to Fox than just a sex toy. She was a vixen, the best one in the galaxy. She had opened the lupine's eyes when he had never thought possible. The least he could do to repay her was get her out of her. He didn't know how, but after the battle he had just been put through he managed to remember one thing.

He knew what Panther was capable of.

Panther had no idea what HE was capable of.

000

Author's Note: Very sick, twisted, sexual chapter. Dark and weird, almost hoyteca level stuff here I suppose. I'm going to repeat what I said earlier though, while I did write most of this, I had two other guys who were very professional about the whole thing who worked and worked with me on this chapter for nearly a month. Seriously, between my other story 'Broken' and updating 'Our Escape' this one chapter took over 1 month to write. I know a lot of you probably hated it and thought it was sick, but that's just how we had it play out. Remember THIS IS THE ALTERNATE DAMN ENDING. NOT THE GOOD ENDING. So if you bitch me out in reviews for having this happen then you've no one to blame but yourself.

And to be honest I had 2 MORE people beta read this chapter and they said it was pretty good. Like good. But that wasn't the goal. Of course I didn't like writing a chapter where Krystal gets raped. Why would I? She's my favorite character in all of StarFox, so this chapter was very tough for me. Plus, it took forever and I put a lot of work into it so I'm happy with it, but since its 4am I'm gonna let you know that I didn't error check it this last time so there's prolly some mistakes.


	34. Alt 7 Mature

Author's Note: Well...I suppose I've waited long enough with chapter 34. It's always fun writing a chapter following one that is about your favorite character getting raped isn't it? No laughs? Didn't think so. Anyways, as dark and traumatic as the previous chapter was I guess we can all just consider it to be acceptable considering it's the 'Alternate Ending' right? I warned ya before I started the Alt that it would be pretty bad and that it would be have Panther coming out on top (no pun intended)

However, considering the mistake I made of keeping Fox alive and also including this new side of Wolf O'Donnell, even this ending will probably work out similar to the original one. But I'm still not sure. To be honest I'm letting my friend, Raleigh747 (you guys know him by now I'm sure) do most of the writing in the Mature section. So we'll just put our heads together and go in the direction we think is the best.

By the way, that little back story with Wolf and his first and only love, Miya...yeah, well keep that fresh on your mind.

000

What it was that Fox McCloud had become was unexplainable. Over the course of the past few weeks though there had been an anger building up inside of him that only fueled the beast within. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day, the entire time he was immobilized by the injuries he had suffered from Panther, his mind was constantly thinking of her. Of Krystal.

But even more so, he was thinking about what was happening to her. Despite the false hope he wanted to give himself he knew what Panther was going to do to her, it wasn't even a question anymore. The first time he had managed to get there in time to stop Panther, but just barely, and it was because of that, because Panther had been _so_ close, that the vulpine knew he would waste absolutely no time in having his way with the vixen. Regardless of what state she was in.

_I'm going to slit your throat you piece of shit! I know you've already crossed that line and I'm going to make you pay for it!_

He had never been like this before in his life. Never had the anger coursed through his veins like it did now. It gave him strength that was almost scary to play host to, but he didn't think twice about it, instead keeping his gaze straight ahead as the Arwing continued to soar across space towards Sargasso. He had done it once, he'd do it again. And if they thought he had been mad the time before then they wouldn't believe what they were up against now. His injuries, as deadly and life threatening as they were, were still nowhere near completely healed, but in his current state of mind they were unnoticeable.

They had begged him not to leave the hospital but he had waited long enough. In fact, in his mind, he had waited too long. He knew it had already happened, that Panther had raped her, that he had forcibly taken what he had wanted all along from the vixen. It didn't matter that she didn't want it to happen. He knew that she wouldn't be in any state to fight back, not after the injuries she had suffered from him. She'd need weeks to recover from the wounds that had been dealt upon her but knowing him, knowing Panther's sick and fucked up mind, he'd use her whenever and however he liked, despite her physical state.

Knowing all of this only added strength to the monster that was screaming to be let out of the vulpine and he knew that even though he was just 20 minutes from Sargasso that he could never get there fast enough.

_Damn you! You sonofabitch Panther! She did nothing to you! Never! She is so innocent! And all you've done is destroy her for it!_

His eyes were closed now, tears forming around their edges as he continued to think the whole thing over. He was still filled with rage and anger, yet at the same time he was so torn up inside he wanted to fall on the ground and sob like a child. It was because he had let this happen to her. He loved her so much! She was his entire world! Everything he had to live for was in that blue vixen, her smile, her eyes, her ears, her nose, her tail, her legs, feet, hands, scent, taste, sound...every single thing about her, he was absolutely crazy over.

She was his world. And for him to have let all of this happen to her...it drove him mad with guilt and anger.

_I swear, and this time it's the fucking truth, that if I ever get you back into my arms again I will never let anything hurt you again. _

Time couldn't go by fast enough as he continued to soar across space, the silent emptiness of the cockpit seeming to drive his thoughts even further and further with rage and obsession. At this point it didn't matter who got in his way. If Falco was standing between him and Krystal he knew that he would waste absolutely no time at all with killing his friend to have her in his arms again. The same could have been said for any of them. Yes they were his friends, yes he loved them, but right now...in this state...that wouldn't be enough to keep them alive.

"I am going to kill them all."

000

"You've gotten what you wanted from her, now let her go."

"Is that what you think?" the black cat replied, an amused look on his face as he faced the lupine. "You think that this," he continued, throwing a hand over his shoulder at the naked and exhausted vixen, "is what I wanted?"

"You fucked her." Wolf replied, trying to sound uncaring and forceful, "What else can you do?"

He regretted the question the second he asked it, knowing all to well by the knowing look that tugged on Panther's face that there were literally thousands of answers to it.

"Oh Wolfy," the cat said with a grin, shaking his head, "You really have no idea do you? You think that after going through all this trouble I'm just going to fuck her once and then let her go? You must be insane!"

"One of us is insane." the lupine replied darkly, "And it's not me."

A few seconds passed and Panther continued to hold his gaze, his head cocked at one side and his mouth sporting a twisted smile that made Wolf want to look away or cringe. But he wouldn't. Not now. At first he had thought that maybe this would be okay, that maybe he'd come to his senses and treat the vixen the way he used to before she had left him. But he had been wrong. That Panther was gone now, replaced with this new, cynical one. Only obsessed with the lustful satisfaction he could achieve from torturing and abusing his newly acquired toy.

"What are you saying?" he asked, still sporting that sick grin, "You think I'm crazy? Well I beg to differ! In fact I've never been more sane in my life! It was before..." he added, straightening up and losing the grin now, "back when I didn't have her. On all those nights I spent looking up at the ceiling and imagining her with McCloud..._that's _when I was insane."

"I had to have her!" he continued, as if he wanted to explain some form of reasoning for all of this now, "I _needed _her. No one else could cut it for me. I tried, I really did. There were a few other bitches, foxes, lionesses, tigresses, hell even a few wolves, but none of them could cut it. I tried to imagine they were her, I painted them blue, I matched every characteristic, right down to the tattoos and eye color! But in the end they all failed to match the real thing. To match this!" he finished by turning back towards the vixen and spreading her legs open, shooting Wolf a cocky grin before leaning down and running his tongue across her channel.

From above he heard her let out a gasp of surprise and pleasure, telling them both that even though the cat had almost raped her senseless a mere couple of minutes ago that she still clung to consciousness.

"That's enough!" Wolf yelled, causing Panther to pause for a few seconds more before slowing standing back up and turning to face him, the feline slowly running his tongue across his muzzle in satisfaction.

"What's wrong Wolfy? Jealous?" he asked, causing the lupine to release a threatening growl. "It's okay. I understand. I mean how could you not want a piece of _this_?" he finished by allowing his elbow to rest on her raised knee, forcing it open once again and exposing the fox's lower region.

"I'm not jealous. I'm pissed off."

"Hmm. Then what's that scent coming off of you? Are you aroused at this sight?" the cat asked, a smirk on his face as he drove the lupine further and further to the point of attack. "I can let you have a go with her if you'd like. I mean...better now than later."

"You're begging me to kill you Caroso." he managed to mutter, the anger arising within him even more as he watched the cat further humiliate his newest friend. "So I'll give you one last chance. Let...her...go."

"You know how earlier I mentioned a few of the 'Krystal's' I tried to fill the gap with were wolves?" Panther asked, a sadistic look on his face he planned to strike another blow to the lupine. "One of them knew you. She was a nice one, really cute and friendly. I had to court her for all of a week before I could get her to stay the night with me."

Somewhere deep within his mind he knew where this was going. He knew what her name would be and he also knew what would happen once Panther confirmed his guess, yet he still waited, a secret part of him still hoping and praying that the black cat before him would go somewhere else with the conversation.

"I think her name was...Miya."

As soon as the name left him so did a low growl begin within the lupine's chest, his lips instantly snarling as he bared his fangs in anger. So his guess had been right. Somehow Panther remembered her. The only other thing in the universe that he had ever loved, that he had ever been willing to die for, had been Miya. And Panther had tracked her down and found her.

"Funny thing." the cat continued, that same look of cockiness on his face, "She hardly remembered you at all."

The growl grew ever louder now, his hands now shaking fists of rage and his muscles tightening as word after heartbreaking word continued to reach him.

"But she'll never forget me." he added, "Or atleast she wouldn't have...if I hadn't killed her."

That was it. At the news of this he snapped. Learning that the animal before him had been responsible for the death of the only she-wolf he had ever loved, it was all he needed to hear before the anger in him boiled over and he lunged at the cat.

But Panther hadn't been egging him on like that for no reason. He had known what all it would have taken to set off the lupine and he had been more than prepared for the attack. In one switch motion he fell aside, surprise instantly flashing over his face as Wolf still somehow managed to grab his left hand. But that wouldn't be enough. His anger had given him amazing strength but it had also blurred his thoughts and made the attack sloppy and unplanned, giving Panther an all too easy target as he slammed his elbow down on the back of the lupine's neck, knocking him to the ground immediately.

The blow had been excruciating but nothing that would have kept him down for more than a few seconds. However that was all the time Panther needed. Immediately following his impact with the floor Wolf felt a sharp pain enter the side of his neck and at first thought he had been stabbed, but seconds later he felt the insertion leave and managed to roll over and force himself back up to his feet, now looking back at Panther.

"Steady now Wolfy." he said, raising his right hand and showing the lupine the empty needle, "The more you move the faster it takes effect."

It was obvious to him that the cat had injected him with something, and that it would more than likely kill him before long, but at this point it didn't matter. The thoughts of his dead ex-lover were still fresh on his mind and that, coupled with the image of the ragged and defeated Cerenian at his side, only added strength to will to fight as he cocked his paws and once again lunged forward.

This time Panther couldn't get out of the way fast enough. He tackled the cat, throwing him the few feet across his bedroom until he slammed into the wall, but never letting him recover as he reached back and slammed a fist into his stomach, the black cat gasping in surprise as the air was knocked out of his lungs. After the punch he reached up and grabbed him by the shoulders before turning and slamming him onto the ground and kneeling over him, his fist rising and falling as he connected with Panther's arms as he tried to shield his face.

He knew he'd eventually win at this pace, that after a few more punches his arms would crack and fall away and that then he could begin to beating the life out the cat until his face was nothing more than a pile of meat and bones. But that time would never come. In fact he managed only to throw a few more punches before the pain struck him in his chest, the lupine immediately gasping in shock and falling back against the wall. He tried to bring his hands to his chest to clutch the stinging area but found that his arms now refused to move, as did his legs and every other part of his body.

He could feel the sweat beginning to run down his face and the pain continued to spread from his heart throughout the rest of his body, the burning feeling becoming so painful that he couldn't even scream to voice how much it hurt, only gasp with each struggled breath.

Although he didn't notice it Panther had managed to rise from his spot on the floor, the cat checking over his few small injuries before smirking and stepping up to him. He waited a few seconds before finally stepping back and kicking the lupine in the chest, not once, nor twice, but close to a half dozen or so times. But it went unnoticed to the leader of StarWolf. At this point he pain that seemed to flow throughout his entire body would blanket even a blaster shot to the head. It was such an unbearable torture that he found himself begging for the sweet relief of death, but fearing the length of time it would be until he received it.

"How does it feel?" Panther asked, his voice barely audible over the high pitched ringing in the lupine's ears, "I bet it hurts doesn't it?"

"I bet you want to die don't you?" he continued, a smirk on his face as he knelt down and got face to face with him. "That's what it's supposed to make you want. But you'll never get it. It's not deadly, only insufferable."

He allowed a small laugh to escape before he stood back up and took the few steps across the room towards the still, all but unconscious vixen. He reached forward and grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her off the bed and onto the floor before dragging her the distance back towards Wolf and dropping her there.

"Look at him." he ordered darkly, surprised that she obeyed, slowly forcing herself up on her side. "Look at the pain he's in. He wants to die so badly right now but he can't, and do you know why?"

"Please stop this..."

"Because!" he interrupted her, "I haven't killed him yet."

"Panther...please...

"I want you to remember that look on his face," he continued, knowing she was seeing the same agony filled expression as he was, "And remember the suffering he's going through right now. Because if you _ever _disobey me, if you _ever _doubt anything I say or order you to do, I will make him suffer for your actions."

"McCloud may be dead," he continued, enjoying the look of despair that flashed across her face at the statement, "But that doesn't mean I still don't have collateral. I know what's going on between you two, I know all about the conversation you two shared behind my back. Consider this," he added, turning back to Wolf, "your punishment for that slip up."

"So from here on out," he went on, now looking back at the vixen, "Unless you want me to make him suffer for your insolence, I suggest you follow every order I give you without question. If not, I won't hesitate to up the dosage a few 24 hours. Understand?"

He knew he could get whatever he wanted from her regardless, but this only made it so much more easier. To have something, or someone, such as Wolf to keep locked away as collateral...it only made his task of breaking her that much more easier.

"Do you understand?" he repeated after a few seconds, the vixen's exhausted and sickened expression going from Panther back to Wolf as she once more took in his agony filled face. His whole body was trembling and sweat had all but soaked him at this point, but he still refused to scream or make any sound other than a faint, shuddered, inhale and exhale.

"The pain he is in right now is unimaginable."

"Yes."

"Yes what my dear?" Panther asked with a grin, reaching down and turning her head and forcing her to look at him.

"Yes I understand." she said defeatedly, "I'll do anything you say."

"No hesitation. No doubt." he replied coldly, an evil look of pride in his eyes, "For if I see the slightest indication of either...

If it hadn't been for Wolf, for the close bond they had managed to form with each other these past few days, she would have never agreed to it. Death was a better way out than this. But now, even though she no longer had Fox to live for, there was still Wolf...and that look on his face, the pain and agony in his eyes that reflected the true nature of the torture he was currently enduring...it was for him that she'd obey Panther. If only for now.

After this Wolf would either escape or die trying. Neither him nor Krystal had imagined Panther to be this fucked up, to be this imaginative when it came to his planning for both of them. But apparently he had given it more thought than either of them had ever imagined possible. But she knew Wolf wouldn't be stupid enough to keep himself in a position where he'd be used as a bargaining agreement. The lupine would find a way to kill himself before he allowed that to happen.

But right now, at this moment...death was not an option for him, and unbeknownst to either him or Krystal, the pain wouldn't end for another few hours. But that was just another sick and sadistic twist to Panther's plan for them both.

"I understand." she repeated, forcing herself to show complete obedience.

"Perfect." the cat answered with a smirk, reaching down and sliding off the shorts he had been wearing while at the same time grabbing the vixen by the hair again and pulling her up to her knees. "Now...show me."

For what could have been only one second she looked up at him, but immediately a growl of warning rumbled from his chest and she realized she had no choice but to follow in on her earlier statement.

"Good girl." he murmured with a purr, placing his paws around her head and forcing her to swallow more and more of his girth.

"I told you I'd break you before long."

000

Author's Note: Well now wasn't that just all sunshine and rainbows? As dark and twisted as it was though it still wasn't as bad as the previous chapter, or so I'd like to believe. Anyways, considering the time frame you all, the readers, can easily assume (and I'm not joking here) that the next chapter will of course involve another showdown between Fox and Panther. And yes, while I know that this is an alternate ending in which Panther is supposed to win, can we all not just go ahead and consider him getting all this out of Krystal enough? So it's like he won all the battles but lost the war in the end? Or did he? I'm still torn between either having him kill Fox in the next chapter or the other way around.

Not sure.

Well...sorry about the wait. Been working on other fics and kinda put this one on the back burner for a while. Would really like to be able to mark it complete though so I'll try to work on it more often.

So there ya go, another sick twisted chapter in which Panther shows even more of his insanity. Enjoy ya weirdos...


	35. Alt 8

Author's Note: After deciding I needed a break from the fluffy romance fic that is 'Fate' I opened up this story again and figured I'd get the next chapter of the alternate ending. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy typing 'Fate' but it's becoming a pain in the ass right now. It's a straight out romance fic, no action or anything, and it's nothing short of tiring. So why not lead off from where the last chapter of this left us? It's nowhere near as dull I'd guess.

Oh and I had a enlightening PM from one of you about how to go about ending this, but after getting no reply for a month I think I'm just going to stick with my original idea. I kinda need to end this one anyways.

000

He watched without feeling as the body of yet another Venomian soldier fell to the ground before him, joining his countless comrades that had came before him. The vulpine didn't care about mercy anymore. He had shown it once and because of that all of this had ended up happening. But never again. Pity was something he'd nevermore feel for_anyone _who got between him and the vixen, regardless of if it was Andross or even Falco. At this point he'd stop at nothing to kill either of them to have her back in his arms.

The loud creaking of metal made him turn his head back towards the hanger, his gaze narrowing as his Arwing, now in pieces as it protruded through the side of the bay's entrance, continued to fall apart. His entry had been nothing short of risky and stupid, but it had worked. He had just enough time to get his cockpit past the doors before they closed in on him, having just let a Venomian fighter in. But that had been all he had needed. The lack of oxygen and freezing cold air had brought him to his knees, but no sooner had the vital gas been restored was he on the move.

Within seconds he had killed the pilot of the ship that had just docked, taking his blaster and heading straight for the exit. There was no hesitation now. He didn't stop to judge his enemy, only to look at the color of their skin before pulling the trigger. Unless it was blue, unless they had her eyes and her scent, her amazing charm and personality...unless they were Krystal, he killed them.

Now, as he continued to sternly walk down the halls of the space station, he found himself picking up traces of her scent, motivating his drive more and more. Every step he took was another one that put him closer to her. Every blast he registered into the skull of a Venomian troop, every dead body he stepped over, every pain-filled heartbeat that left him, it was all getting him closer and closer to her. This time he _would _kill Panther. No matter what it took. Both times before he had been angry, he had been able to derive strength from his feelings towards the cat and what he was doing to Krystal. And it had been unimaginable power that he got from it.

But now...it was so much more. As if every time he failed a newer part of him was thrown away and replaced with a stronger, more reliable part. A part that wouldn't let her get hurt again. A part that would make Panther pay for it all.

He knew where he was going this time. He remembered all too easily where the cat's room was, and he could only hope that she was there. But he had his doubts. No one really knew what it was that Panther's sick and twisted mind had put aside for Krystal, but the vulpine knew it would be just as unbearable as death, if not worse.

_She doesn't deserve it! She hasn't done anything!_

The thoughts kept coming back, making him angrier and angrier. The truth behind them was undeniable. She truly hadn't done anything to deserve this. Other than being a beautiful, perfect, amazing fox...and those were traits that were deserving of a goddess. Not a sex slave.

He took another corner, pulling the blaster up and resting the sights on the forehead of a waiting Venomian soldier. The lizard went for his gun but had hardly gotten his hand to the holster before his blood splattered against the wall behind him. Yet the vulpine's attention wasn't there for more than a second before he slipped to his right and avoided the oncoming blast from another soldier, taking only a second to judge his aim before firing another single shot off. It was more of the same now. They were basically target practice, a warm-up if you will, for the finale.

He knew Panther was aware of him by now. If he wasn't yet then he would be soon. Which pressured him to move faster, to get to the cat before he had a chance to make a break for it. But with that thought also rested that same realization, the one that the vulpine counted on.

_He's just as obsessed with her as I am. He knows I'll never stop hunting him until one of us is dead._

Panther wouldn't flee. No. He'd have one more chance to face off with the cat, and this time he was more than sure that only one of them would be alive to see the next day. And he was even more sure that it wouldn't be himself. If he had to die then he would, but he'd take Panther with him as well. There was absolutely no way in hell he was going to let Krystal live the rest of her life as his toy. She deserved so much more than that. She deserved better than Panther, she deserved better than StarFox, she deserved better than anything he could ever have offered her.

And while he couldn't give her any of it, the least he could do was save her from this.

He continued on across the ship, taking a flight of stairs, his ears perked forward and his blaster resting in his paw as he drew closer and closer to the final hallway. She'd be in one of these rooms he was sure, if not then maybe the sick bay. Going by how awful she had looked the last time he had seen her he figured she was still in too bad a shape do anything other than sleep and rest. But then he remembered just who it was he was up against, how crazy and impulsive Panther was when it came to getting what he wanted.

_Who knows what shit he pumped into her just so he could have his fun? God damnit! I'm going to kill you Panther. I'm going to make you suffer for putting her through all of this!_

Upon reaching the final step he found himself facing the same room that he had found Pigma in during his last journey, only this time the self-absorbed swine wasn't shoveling food down his throat at the table. Instead though the table had been turned over, and whereas they had once been a television now rested a mounted mg-blaster. He had just enough time to lock eyes with the tiger behind it before the trigger was pulled, forcing him to step back and crouch on the second last to step of the stairway. But, as before, he didn't miss a beat.

He reached to his waist and pulled the pin out of a shock grenade, having formed a collection of them off the countless dead bodies he had stepped over so far. He let it cook for a second before finally standing up and pitching it straight ahead. His timing had been unfortunate though as at that same time he felt the hot sting of blaster fire run along his left shoulder, causing him to fall back and throw his arm up against the rail along the wall to keep from falling. Less than a second later the blast from the shock grenade sent debris over his head and he remained sitting there just long enough to rip the side of his shirt and perform a quick field dressing before grabbing his blaster and standing up.

It wasn't until he reached the room, now covered in blood and trash, that he noticed how pathetic the troops were. Hardly old enough to join the force, if they were given the choice, and more than likely only trained for a week or so before being shipped out to fight an enemy they had no intel on. Especially him. He knew he was the textbook soldier right now. The cold blooded, heartless killing machine that every drill sergeant worked for in his troops. But that wasn't entirely true. He _did _have a heart, and it was killing him for allowing all of this to happen.

Not bothering to waste any time he stepped across the room, the crunching of broken glass just audible over the faint sirens and warnings going off across the ship.

_I should have just blown this place up the first time I was here. It would have killed all of StarWolf and none of this would have happened._

He knew what it would be like had that been the case. He'd probably be back on the ship right now, on the couch watching television or sleeping, and Krystal would be up against him, her body matching his own as he held her close and took in her beautiful scent. He'd go to sleep by her side and wake up there as well, and he'd spend the whole day with her. Every day, for the rest of their lives, no matter what.

But instead he was here. Half insane and on a killing spree that had never been matched as he entered yet another hallway with waiting soldiers. They had position on their side, they were ready and waiting for him whereas he was exposed and open to fire. But still none of them could match his draw. Of the four of them only one managed to get a shot off before he too fell back in surprise, the final blaster shot ringing true against his throat. Like puppets they fell to the floor, their uniforms hiding the looks of shock and death that the vulpine knew was crawling across their faces.

It wasn't because he wasn't afraid of dying that made him such an efficient killer all of the sudden. But rather that he _had _someone to kill, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let someone else get the better of him before he got to the guy he wanted. Until he found Panther, until the cat was finally killed off and Krystal was freed from all of this, he wouldn't _allow_ himself to die.

Not until he caught her scent again did the vulpine realize where he was, looking up ahead and recognizing the same long hallway that played host to StarWolf's bedrooms. Still refusing to waste any time he stepped forward, getting only a couple of steps before freezing in his tracks and perking his ears towards the room on his right. He waited a brief moment more before stepping back and pulling up his blaster. He then reached over and threw the door open, firing a shot straight ahead and hitting the target he knew had been waiting for him.

Allowing a smirk to come over him he stepped up to the wheezing body, looking down at his grotesque form with a satisfied, yet also hateful look.

"Try breathing lighter next time Pigma." he muttered, admiring the look of fear and pain in the pig's eyes before placing his blaster on his head.

He had been hiding, blaster pointed at the door, knowing who it was that had infiltrated the ship. But he had failed to pull the trigger, or even lift the gun, before the vulpine had landed a shot in his chest.

"Fox please-

"Better yet." he went on, stifling the swine's attempts to beg for his life. "Try not breathing at all."

The blast that rang out across the room sounded like music to his ears as he watched Pigma's eyes go wide with shock before slowly losing the look that life used to put inside of them. His body slumped forward before finally falling out of the wheelchair he had been using. The vulpine had originally been content with simply ridding him the use of his legs for the rest of his life, but something about what had happened, how he felt now and what he wanted to do to get back at them all, it made him go further with it. Pigma wouldn't learn his lesson from simply losing the use of his legs.

But his life on the other hand...

He took a moment to look down at the pig before sneering in disgust and turning back towards the room's entrance.

"He's all yours dad."

000

What he had been put through for the last hour was indescribable. Never before had such pain been inflicted upon him in all his years of fighting. Usually he could hold it together when he was hurt, he could fight back the pain and keep mouth shut and trick everyone into thinking that it didn't really hurt and that he was just as much of a badass then as he always was.

That wasn't the case now.

Whatever it was that Panther had injected him with, as bad as it had been at the start, only seemed to grow worse as time progressed. He had wanted to kill the cat, to free Krystal from his sick and twisted clutches, to repay her for everything she had done for him over the short period of time he had been alone with her. And he might have been able to do it, had the black cat not been too quick for him. Now, instead of helping her escape, he was curled up in a ball, clutching his sides and letting the tears silently stream down his face as he tried to suffer the pain.

_I can't take this. It's been over an hour now and it's just getting worse. It's worse than death. I actually want to die. I...want to die._

He had already been changed from the Wolf O'Donnell that he had once been, and that was thanks to Krystal. She had opened his eyes and told him the things he had needed to hear for such a long time now. She had given him hope that he hadn't thought possible to possess again. That had been one of his changes. That was a part of him he hadn't let out in a long time.

But now there was another part being revealed that so few rarely got to see, and it was him in the most defeated state of his life. His nose was bleeding nonstop, his ears were ringing with an unbearable intensity, his whole body felt as if it were on fire constantly. The pain was of an unimaginable level. It was as if the serum was eating at his skin from the inside out, only that the process took forever to transition. He no longer cared how pathetic he looked in front of them, though he knew neither of the two probably cared.

The fact that he was curled up in a ball in the corner, silently whimpering to himself and clenching his fists in an attempt to survive the torture, was basically ignored by the rooms only other two inhabitants. He knew Panther didn't care. Not as long as he had Krystal. And the blue fox was probably aware of his pain, but she couldn't manage anything either, and even if she could she wouldn't. He had heard Panther's promise. That he would up the dosage to a days time on him if she didn't do anything and everything the cat asked.

And while he wanted her to be free, while he wanted her to fight back and get out of this place, right now, after realizing that enduring something like this non-stop for 24 hours was possible, he couldn't help but hope she'd comply with the cat's orders. Which apparently she was doing as he numbly watched from his spot on the floor, not really paying attention to the scene playing out but still vaguely aware of it at the same time. It was all for sex now, as he had known it would have been. Panther was always wanting to get his dick wet, even before he had met Krystal.

But there was something that had put her above the rest. Then having her get away, and not being able to have her for so long, it had done something to him, it had made him crazy with lust and obsessed with getting to have his way with her. It didn't help that he had been seconds away from accomplishing that goal before Fox stole her back...again. So for him to finally have his third chance...the lupine knew he wouldn't hold a thing back, and while he wanted to get up and stop it, he knew he couldn't. Not only was he in unimaginable pain, but he was basically all but paralyzed. Just being able to clutch his sides seemed like a blessing now.

So he was forced to watch from there as the vixen continued to do whatever Panther demanded. The cat was rough with her, he smacked her, hit her, bit her...he did everything he wanted to do and held nothing back. Countless times he had her, but he wouldn't stop. They were in his room and this was where he kept all his preparations. Syringes, pills, toys, machines, all of which he had set aside for exactly this purpose. Fatigue wouldn't be a problem for him, and he couldn't care less about her. As long as she was still breathing, as long as she was still alive and aware that she was being raped, it was good enough for him.

_I must...help...her. I've got to..._

He tried to unfold his arms but no sooner did he brush them across floor did a sickening burning sensation run across his body, causing the lupine's mouth to open in agony. But he was also muted from the serum as well and the only thing that escaped him ended up being a faint gasp. He let his head fall back down to the floor, closing his eyes and feeling more tears cut loose from his face. Death was a blessing at this point and he could only pray that someone would bring it upon him, or her. He wanted to save Krystal, because of what she had done for him. But now he was beginning to wonder if that was even a possibility.

Would it be better for them to just die? Would death be a better solution than simply suffering this for the rest of their lives?

_How did it come to this?_

It was perhaps his stupidest thought yet, and he almost instantly knew the answer to it, his mind quickly putting up a mental image of the she-wolf he had once been in love with. If he hadn't hurt her, if he had stayed with Miya all those years ago...he wouldn't have become this. He would have never joined StarWolf. He would have stayed with her on Corneria and started a life there, he would have had children with her and been happier than he could have ever imagined. And it wouldn't have just affected him either.

Beforehand he hadn't cared about Fox's situation, but that was before he had truly met the vixen that both he and Panther were fighting over. It wasn't until she had opened his eyes and told him the truth that he remembered what it felt like to love someone enough to kill or be killed for them. He had felt that way about Miya, and Fox felt the same towards Krystal, and now he respected that. Now he wanted nothing more than to help the vulpine and vixen get back together and live the perfect life that he had never gotten.

And maybe he'd try his hand at it once again...if somehow this was all resolved...maybe...just maybe he would.

An exhausted and painful sounding moan came from across the room, the lupine just barely noticing it through his own pain-filled experience, but managing to look back up as the vixen's stomach arched into the air.

"Feels good doesn't it my love?" he heard Panther purr proudly, resting his paw on her stomach and pressing down.

"Please Panther!" the vixen managed to cry, her face lined with tears as she struggled to look down at him from her chained position, "Please stop! It hurts...it-

She never had time to finish before her eyes flew wide in surprise, the lupine just being able to see Panther's paw lung forward before closing his eyes and trying to shut it away. He didn't want to see it. He didn't want to know all that Panther was doing to her, though he knew it was just as sick and painful as she was letting on. He still would have been willing to suffer the same pain right then because it couldn't have been anywhere near as bad as what he was feeling right now.

It seemed to come in waves almost, and he felt the next one nearing it's peak as the seconds, which felt like hours, crept by. He tightened his grip on his sides, fighting the pain that came with the slightest of movements and doing his best to brace for the steadying torturous feeling. For a while now he had been hoping they would lessen in intensity, telling him that the dosage was wearing off, but apparently Panther had put enough of it into his system to last more than long enough to have his way with Krystal a few dozen times.

So the way he saw it the only escape was to simply wait it out, even though that was basically it's own type of hell anyways.

The room was soundproof, and door was locked tight, keeping them shut off from the rest of the ship. Panther was in his own fucked up world right now and probably wouldn't notice if a meteor tore into the side of the space station. But as for Wolf, for the smallest of seconds right after the searing pain passed it's peak and the ringing in his ears died down the slightest amount, he thought he could hear the faint sound of an alert siren going off. The same one that he had heard so many weeks ago when Fox had snuck about and wreaked havoc among them all for the vixen.

But then he just figured it was his imagination playing tricks on him. Anything to get his hopes up, for something to end his pain, and save her life.

_McCloud, if you're out there. We need you._

000

Author's Note: Still as dark and nasty a story as ever I suppose, but it_ is _the alternate ending, so it's following the style. Probably seen as another tease chapter, but hell I don't care. I progressed some, if not a lot, and to be honest it was rather easy for me to type compared to that headache known as 'Fate' so I was grateful for the break.

So yeah, keep guessing about how this alt. Ending is going to go. I bet you won't get it right the first time. lol

Cheers.


End file.
